By Olivia Miwil
Feb 7, 2015.
KOTA KINABALU: The enforcement unit of the Sabah
Wildlife Department will be reorganised to better prevent illegal poaching.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment
minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the plan would be announced about a month
after the appointment of new director for the department, which is under the
purview of the ministry.
“My gun is loaded with bullets to ensure the
department has officers who respect and not hesitate to enforce the law.
“The reorganisation is not to make the lives (of)
native (folk) difficult but to ensure poachers will not get away,” he said in
response to recent statement by several non-governmental organisations, which were
concerned with the long-standing wildlife hunting issues.
Among those NGOs Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT), Borneo Rhino Alliance
(Bora), Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), Hutan-Kinabatangan Orang
Utan Conservation Programme (Hutan-KOCP), Land Empowerment Animals People
(LEAP) Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa) and WWF-Malaysia.
Poachers were reported to hunt wildlife such as
wild boars, monkeys, civet cats among others in forests including reserves
areas such as World’s lost World Maliau Basin Conservation Area, Tabin Wildlife
Reserve, as well as Crocker Range National Park.
Meanwhile, proposed Tun Mustapha Park in the
northern of Sabah has also become one of the hunting targets for sea turtles
meat to be sold to neighbouring countries.
While expressing dissatisfaction over the
department’s reasoning that it was short-handed to prevent poaching, Masidi called
for the public to help the government curb such activities.
“Poachers, whom I believe are non-natives,
have no fear of enforcement officers and even sell the meat in bulk openly in
markets.
“Therefore, it is important for the people to
give the names of poachers to the authority will take further action against
them.”
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