New Straits Times 12 Jul 10;
SERIKIN (Bau): "Are you looking for crocodile penis?" the Indonesian trader whispered to a journalist couple whom he thought was looking for an aphrodisiac to spice up their lives.
The cost of the appendage? RM250.
The trader, popularly known as "Bapak Mat" at this border bazaar on the Kalimantan-Sarawak border here, is discreet in what he sells on this side of the border.
If he is caught by wildlife protection officers, he faces a fine of RM10,000 and a year's jail as the crocodile is a protected reptile in Sarawak.
Bapak Mat is one of several traders here who play hide-and-seek with officers of the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) daily to carry out their trade on protected animals.
It is the ugly side of the bazaar that is popular with Malaysians from as far as the peninsula, who come here for the cheap branded fakes.
Serikin is about 55km from Kuching.
Now feeling safe knowing that the couple were not SFC officers, Bapak Mat became persistent in what he wanted to sell even though he could only deliver it in a week.
He made it clear to the journalists why he could not keep it in stock as the risk was high.
Crocodile penis is not the only exotic item he offers.
He has eagles, mynas and parakeets, all RM250 each before bargaining.
Mynas and parakeets are also protected birds in Sarawak.
When asked what he had available on the spot, Bapak Mat said only turtle eggs, which he sold at RM10 for nine eggs.
Even then, Bapak Mat's wife had to stealthily take the journalists to a dark store behind the wooden stall to get the eggs.
They were wrapped in black plastic bags.
Trade in protected animals is thriving despite the law.
Restaurants offering dishes such as river terrapins, wild boar meat, frogs and flying foxes, dot rural Bau and Kuching.
These dishes are, however, only available after office hours when wildlife protection officers are not on duty and, therefore, the chances of getting caught are slim.
Most restaurants offer them only to their best customers.
But such exotic meals are expensive affairs.
A river terrapin dish for two costs RM18.
So is the frog meat. A wild boar dish is RM12.
State Forest director and Wildlife controller Datuk Len Talif Salleh said that trade in protected species was still taking place in rural Sarawak.
However, he added that it was less rampant than before.
