Malaysia: Guide, turtle have 'special bond'

Eunice Au and Evangeline Majawat New Straits Times 16 Aug 12;

TOUR OPERATOR APOLOGISES: Admits mistake in bringing turtle to the water surface for snorkellers to touch

KUALA LUMPUR: THE youth, who rescued a turtle 12 years ago, has a special bond with the reptile which he called Pupu, since then.
Mohamad Shafarien Othman was 8 when he rescued Pupu from a fishing net and had taken care of it for a year before releasing it back into the sea, said his father Othman Mohamad.

"The turtle, which we named Pupu, lives in the waters around here and my son would play with it every day.

"It is as if the turtle recognises its rescuer," he said, adding that Shafarien would clean Pupu's shell once a fortnight.

Shafarien said when he rescued Pupu, it was so tiny and its throat was injured.

"It would have been eaten by larger fish if I had released it immediately."

The special connection between Shafarien and Pupu, however, had been misconstrued by some quarters including the conservationists when Othman's company uploaded a series of snapshots on Facebook showing people touching, manhandling and riding a green turtle.

The photos and a 33-second video clip were quickly taken down following an outcry in the social media on Tuesday night.

Surprised at the public outrage against his actions, Shafarien clarified that turtle-back riding was not part of the snorkeling tour's itinerary.

"The water was not clear that day and the customers could not see Pupu clearly so I thought there was no harm in bringing him up to the surface.

Othman confirmed that the tour guide involved -- the boy in a white rash guard top -- was his 20-year-old son Shafarien.

Although he realised it was against the law to touch a marine animal, he stressed that the turtle in the pictures had a special connection to Shafarien.

The 40-year-old tour operator, however, admitted his mistake and promised that there would be no repeat incidents.

Following complaints from green groups and the public, the Marine Parks Department issued a warning letter to Perhentian Setia.

Othman has since submitted the names and details of the boatman, tour guide and tourists involved in the incident to the department.

In an immediate response to the incident, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the ministry had urged the Department of Environment to provide the ministry with a set of guidelines for tour operators to incorporate into the nation's tourism policy.

"There is currently no policy under the ministry on animal conservation," she said.