Florence A. Samy The Star 20 Sep 10;
PETALING JAYA: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) will undergo a shake-up to weed out officers who are in cahoots with illegal wildlife traders.
The department has been dogged with allegations of corruption among its enforcement officers following the arrest of infamous wildlife trader Anson Wong recently.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said this was among the measures being taken to plug loopholes and enhance enforcement in the department, which had come under fire from conservationists.
“We have set up an internal audit. We are reviewing the standard operating procedures, legislation and departmental structure,” he said.
Asked if Perhilitan officers had been helping illegal wildlife traders, Uggah said: “Those are some of the issues we are looking at.
“We do not condone anyone who breaks or fails to enforce the law. We will take stern action.”
Uggah, who acknowledged that illegal wildlife trade was a very lucrative business, urged the public to come forward if they had evidence of such collaboration so that action could be taken.
He said experts and non-governmental organisations would be brought in as part of the process to review current procedures in the department.
The ministry, particularly Perhilitan, had been heavily criticised following Wong’s arrest for trying to smuggle out 95 boa constrictors without a permit.
Wong, who was caught at the KL International Airport on Aug 26 while on transit from Penang to Jakarta, was sentenced on Sept 6 to six months’ jail and fined RM190,000 by the Sepang Sessions Court.
Many groups, however, were unhappy with the sentence. Wong had previously been sentenced to 71 months’ jail by the United States for illegal wildlife trafficking.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers has since appealed against the sentencing for the latest offence.
Following Wong’s arrest, the Penang National Park and Wildlife Department director was reportedly transferred to another state effective Oct 1.
International magazines such as National Geographic had highlighted Malaysia in their articles as the so-called “hub” for illegal wildlife trafficking.
Uggah said the ministry was working with several agencies, including Rela, the military, police and Maritime Enforcement Agency, to strengthen enforcement against illegal wildlife trade.
“We want to identify the poachers’ hotspots and the outlets they use to illegally bring in and out animals. We are accused of being a hub but if you study carefully, we are not,” he said.
Tougher action, Uggah added, would be taken against those who operated zoos without a licence to prevent these from being used as a front for wildlife trade.
“Currently, there is no law that allows us to license zoos. Thus, our zoos are operating without licences.
“The new (Wildlife Conservation) Act will empower us to license zoos so that it adheres to international zoo standards. If we are not happy with any zoo, we can close it down,” he said, adding the Act was expected to be gazetted and enforced by year-end.
Author: Wong is like a leopard that never changes its spots
Yuen Meikeng The Star 20 Sep 10;
PETALING JAYA: Convicted smugglers like Anson Wong should be denied licences to sell or possess wildlife if the authorities are serious about putting an end to illegal trafficking.
American writer Bryan Christy said Wong, or anyone related to him, should not be given any more licences by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) in order to protect endangered species.
Christy, who wrote an expose on Wong entitled “The Kingpin” in the National Geographic magazine, said the man should have been given a tougher sentence, given his history as a wildlife smuggler.
“Certainly, his sentence sends a weak message. But an even weaker message is the fact that Perhilitan did not catch him nor did the Customs Department. An airline employee did,” Christy said in an email interview.
Christy did not believe that Wong, despite being jailed six months and fined RM190,000 for trying to smuggle 95 snakes without a permit recently, would change his ways.
“Absolutely not. He did not clean up after serving more than five years of his sentence in the US, and some of those years were in a Mexican prison,” said Christy, who is also the author of The Lizard King, a book on wildlife smuggling.
Christy urged the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to reform Perhilitan from the top down and exercise its responsibility as the country’s management authority for wildlife as governed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
“It should stop coming up with weak ‘audit committee’ proposals to ‘oversee’ Perhilitan, and stop asking it to investigate itself. It should start taking real action. It is embarrassing,” he said.
Christy said he was convinced the leadership in Perhilitan was the biggest barrier to wildlife conservation in Malaysia and an even bigger obstacle than Wong.
“All you have to do is look at how they respond when a smuggler like Wong is exposed.
“They did not ask who failed to stop him. They asked who dared to expose him. “They did not apologise for failure. They said they never had any evidence. That is failure,” said Christy.
