Stephen Then The Star 1 Sep 10;
ADELAIDE: International anti-palm oil activists have taken their cause to zoos. At the Adelaide Zoo, visitors are greeted by huge posters claiming that oil palm plantations were killing the orang utan and contributing to global warming.
The posters – put up by the so-called Palm Oil Action Group – are plastered on the wall of an orang utan enclosure at the zoo.
In one poster, the activists allege that there are only between 45,000 and 60,000 orang utans left in Borneo and that the primate will be extinct within 20 years “at the present killing rate of 50 orang utans per week”.
Another poster claims that the orang utans are being killed by oil palm plantation workers clearing land with guns, machetes, wooden stacks and fires.
Yet another poster asks for the global community to apply pressure on governments and private land companies to put a stop to this “orang utan killings” and halt the destruction of forests.
The campaign here, it is learnt, is part of an extremely vicious and widespread global drive by anti-palm oil activists against land development and oil palm projects in not only Malaysia but also in Borneo, Sumatra and Papua New Guinea.
The campaigns are not only depicted on the Internet and at international forums but also right in the heart of public parks and zoos in world famous tourists spots, with the map of Malaysia and Borneo prominently featured as hotspots for orang utan “genocide”.
The Star, which followed Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen through a 10-day promotional visit of New Zealand and Australia last week, found that the oil palm plantation and orang utan issues were not only a hot topic among Kiwi and Aussie nature-lovers, but also among their journalists.
Dr Ng was outraged when she saw the posters, saying they did not reflect the true situation in Malaysia.
She repeatedly raised the issue during her meetings with the foreign media and tourism bodies throughout her tour of the two countries.
However, Adelaide Zoo chief executive officer Dr Chris West told The Star these activists were very powerful lobby groups that could shape government decisions.
He said that Malaysia must tighten its environmental and animal welfare laws.
He said the enclosures for orang utan, pandas and tigers were among the most-visited by tourists and locals.
Asked why the activists were allowed to display such damaging posters about the alleged “killings” of orang utan, he said that in liberal countries the freedom of speech was paramount.
“These activists have a right to highlight what they believe to be the truth.
“What government leaders in Malaysia should do is to highlight what they know as the truth.
“They must counter these activists by showing to the world what they are doing to really protect, preserve and conserve the orang utans and how they are developing their oil palm and logging in globally acceptable manners.
“They must effectively stop illegal logging and massive land-clearing.
“Malaysian leaders must address these issues outside of Malaysia and fight the activists on foreign soil,” said Dr West.
Adelaide Zoo is one of three big zoos in the state of Southern Australia. More than 1.8 million tourists and Australians visit the zoos yearly.
