SHAH ALAM - Sustainable Malaysia Association committee member, Wong Yi Hao have called out the Kelantan Forestry Department (JPNK) for not doing enough to handle the wildlife conservation crisis that is caused by widespread deforestation.
Wong said that the association is disappointed with how JPNK is managing the issue and the response of its director, Abdul Khalim Abu Samah who stated that logging aids in increasing the tiger population, only raises more concerns.
"We at the Sustainable Malaysia Association are disappointed with the Kelantan forestry department’s handling of widespread deforestation and their effort (or the lack of) in wildlife conservation.
"Even the public finds it hard to accept the statement issued by the Kelantan’s forestry department director that logging helps to increase tiger population,” he said in a statement today.
He urges the Kelantan state government to step up efforts to stop deforestation and conserve wildlife.
Wong also stated it is unfortunate that Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah keeps denying the impact of widespread logging on the tiger population.
According to Wong, there are two sets of data that have proven the radical decrease of the tiger population contributed by deforestation.
"Tiger population in the country in 2014 was estimated to be between 250 to 400, according to data from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Persatuan Penyelidik Rimba Malaysia (RIMBA).
"The latest estimation from Perhilitan also revealed that there are less than 200 tigers in Malaysia today,” he said.
Sustainable Malaysia Association is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that advocates for a balanced approach to development and environmental sustainability in order to achieve shared economic, social and ecological advantages.