Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times 7 Feb 10;
Sharks and shark's fin, as well as a quip on loan sharks, had two MPs sharing their views on the topic at a youth forum yesterday.
It all started when someone asked the MPs if they would refrain from serving the Chinese delicacy at their constituency dinners.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak, an MP for Sembawang GRC, did not think he would.
He said that while he did not want any sharks to become extinct 'except loan sharks', he pointed out that not all shark populations were endangered.
He also encouraged animal welfare activists to raise public awareness about their cause.
Singapore abides by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, he noted.
'Maybe one day shark's fin will be on the convention if you all push hard,' he said at the forum on animal welfare held at Chong Pang Community Club in Yishun.
Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, felt that Singaporeans from different backgrounds held different views about eating shark's fin.
It all boiled down to personal choice, and a ban would not be fair. 'It's about moral suasion,' he said.
The question was posed by management consultant Tan Hang Chong, who said he was in his 30s. Five others also raised concerns about shark's fin.
Some 20 activists and students spoke up at the two-hour forum organised by the Chong Pang Community Club Youth Executive Committee and animal welfare group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).
Other concerns that were raised included wild monkeys intruding into homes, the care of stray dogs and the treatment of marine creatures at Resorts World Sentosa's Marine Life Park.
One other hot topic raised by five people was a call for the removal of the ban on keeping cats in Housing Board flats.
Dr Maliki said the ban would stay as many Singaporeans were not ready yet to have cats in their densely-populated HDB blocks.
