(MY) all on tiger shooting

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Saturday Notes: Nik Aziz earns his stripes with simple solution to tiger threat

 

Aug 17: WILLIAM Blake immortalised them in his poem The Tiger, while Rudyard

Kipling demonised them in his depiction of Shere Khan in the legendary Jungle

Book.

 

But Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat outdid both when he

said: " Bring in the army and shoot all the tigers. " A simple solution from the

Tok Guru, who places the livelihood of his people above efforts to protect from

extinction an animal chosen as one of our nation's symbols.

 

Nik Aziz's justification for the proposal is logical - why take the trouble of

trapping tigers which have been attacking, killing and causing anxiety to rubber

tappers and villagers in Jeli? To him, the priority should be to protect the

lives and livelihoods of human beings.

 

Nik Aziz, the spiritual adviser of Pas, is spot-on in setting such priorities,

especially when those affected are from the lower-income group who cannot afford

to miss a day's work.

 

At the same time, Nik Aziz cannot ignore the fact that the conflict between man

and animal is usually caused by the former and the latter is merely reacting.

 

It has been repeatedly pointed out that savage animals become maneaters when

they are displaced from their habitat, injured or threatened.

 

Indiscriminate clearing of forests by illegal settlers through slash-and burn

activities is common in Kelantan, especially since the 1990 general election.

 

In the run-up to that general election, Pas and its allies in the now defunct

Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah promised, in their manifesto for Kelantan, that

district officers would be allowed to approve individual land applications of up

to four hectares.

 

This was to eliminate the encumbrances faced by applicants that appeared when

every application had to be approved by the State Executive Council, as

practised under Barisan Nasional rule.

 

The idea was to win the support of illegal settlers who had opened up land in

South Kelantan in districts such as Jeli, Gua Musang and Kuala Krai.

 

Prior to the election, the BN State Government had its hands full dealing with

the large number of illegal settlers, and had been trying to evict them.

 

To go even further back, prior to BN taking over the State rule in 1978, the Pas

Government under the leadership of Asri Muda was accused of selling off large

tracts of land and allowing discriminate clearing.

 

In 1990, Pas and its allies saw the opportunity to win the support of the

illegal settlers, hence the promise in their manifesto.

 

However, after Pas won the State, there was a sudden surge of new illegal

settlers wanting to take the opportunity to get land alongside earlier settlers.

 

These new illegal settlers, to ensure that they did not miss out, rushed to

clear large tracts of land using slash-and-burn methods, which not only

destroyed jungles but affected the natural habitats of wild animals, tigers

included.

 

At about the same time, realising they might not get new concessions from the

Pas Government, timber companies that had received concessions from the previous

BN State Government engaged in illegal logging.

 

All this has been the result of political power play because in Kelantan, land

is truly a carrot worth dangling. At present, the timber industry is one of the

main sources of income for Kelantan, which has not been able to generate other

economic activities.

 

With that, logging activities becomes quite extensive, leading to the

destruction of primary forests, further damaging the natural habitats of wild

animals.

 

Today, the tigers and at irregular intervals, elephants, have decided to " strike

back " , and those who must pay the price are the peasants, rubber tappers and

villagers.

 

The illegal settlers and loggers are spared because they did a good job in

chasing away the tigers, elephants and other wild animals.

 

They made their money and got their land, leaving the villagers and tigers to

fight each other for survival.

 

On the sidelines, politicians, Nik Aziz included, continue to offer shortcut

solutions to a situation brought about by their own lack of conviction in coming

up with wise and comprehensive land and logging policies.

 

Meanwhile, a colleague from Kelantan says that whether Nik Aziz's call for

shooting the tigers on sight is right or wrong, families who have suffered from

tiger attacks are very clear on their stand.

 

" To them, what do the people in Kuala Lumpur know about their sufferings? To

them KL folk seem to be more concerned about the tigers than their plight. As

far as these families are concerned, the only good tigers are dead ones. " In

that light, Nik Aziz has made a decision that will go down well with the

villagers, and the tigers of Jeli and other parts of Kelantan have lost their

right to live.

 

And with that, Nik Aziz and like-minded politicians earn their stripes.

 

 

 

New Straits Times » National

 

Plan to rid state of tiger menace

 

JELI, Aug 16: The Government will carry out a plan to rid Kelantan, especially

Jeli district, of the tiger menace so that the people can earn a living,

National Economic Action Council executive director Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said.

 

He said the plan included deploying villagers, the army and Rela members on a

gotong royong to clean up smallholdings and orchards and carry out operations to

chase off tigers.

 

" The tigers will be shot as a last resort, if they threaten humans. However,

pre-emptive action must be taken, " he said after a talk on current issues to

teachers at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Air Lanas here today.

 

He was commenting on a statement by Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat that a

large-scale operation involving the army would be launched to hunt and kill all

tigers in Jeli following the recent rash of attacks.

 

Three people have been killed by the animals in the state since early this year

while another rubber tapper, Abdullah Mamat, 40, survived the latest attack on

Aug 4 at Kampung Sungai Satan, Tanah Merah. Another smallholder has also gone

missing since July 16.

 

Police have recovered a skull and some human bones near a smallholding but have

yet to confirm whether they belong to a tiger victim.

 

Mustapa said 70 per cent of Jeli residents depended on rubber tapping and their

orchards for a living and the attacks and sightings are causing fear among them

and they have not gone out to work.

 

" It is important for us to take quick action to solve the problem to enable the

villagers to return to work, " he said.

 

In Kuala Lumpur, Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law

Hieng Ding said the army would be breaking the law if it followed Nik Abdul

Aziz's directive to hunt and kill all tigers.

 

" I don't think the army will take action without considering the law. They would

be breaking it, " he said.

 

This was because the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 lists the tiger as a totally

protected animal, and it may only be shot under specific conditions.

 

Anyone, including wildlife officers, may shoot a totally protected animal if

human lives are threatened. However, they must first have taken reasonable steps

to frighten away the animal.

 

Nik Aziz had said the State Government would pay for a shoot-onsight operation

involving the army, as a solution to the spate of attacks.

 

Law said he had directed the Wildlife and National Parks Department to come up

with suggestions for smallholders to minimise tiger attacks. A Perhilitan

spokesman said this included setting traps in tiger-prone areas.

 

There are also 15 department officers patrolling these areas day and night.

Additionally, other methods are being taken such as clearing unkempt plantations

which can draw tigers out from adjoining forests.

 

There is also a plan to use life-like dummies of men that are wired to give

tigers an electric shock upon contact. " Scientific reports from India have shown

this method to be effective as electrical shocks scare them from assaulting men,

or man-like targets, " the spokesman said.

 

The increase in tiger attacks has been blamed on the loss of their jungle

habitat due to development.

 

" In Kelantan, there is a sudden increase in development and the tiger has

nowhere to go, " said Malacca Zoo veterinarian Dr Razeem Abdullah.

 

He said tigers were intelligent animals that learnt behaviour. Forced out of

their habitat, they find that humans are easy prey.

 

The focus should thus be on wildlife management instead of catching or killing

them. He also said attacks normally peaked in August each year.

 

" August is the season when wild boar come out to feed on fruits and are hunted

by tigers.

 

In the process, tigers come across humans and find that they are also easy

prey. " WWF Malaysia scientific officer Mohd Azlan Jayasilan Abdul Azad, who

works in a tiger conservation programme in Jerangau Barat, Terengganu, said

hunting and killing them was a " cheap, short-term solution " .

 

" Most attempts to kill a tiger by shooting only succeed in injuring it. A hurt

tiger will return to attack humans. It is a cycle. " There are about 600 tigers

in Peninsular Malaysia, while there is none in Sabah and Sarawak.

 

Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said it had no plans to send its personnel to

Jeli to shoot tigers just because there had been attacks on humans, its Deputy

Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal said.

 

" We cannot make rash decisions. There are laws. Nik Aziz should consider the

humanitarian aspects (of shooting tigers). "

 

 

 

August 17 2002

 

Outcry over Kelantan plan to kill all tigers

 

KUALA LUMPUR - Kelantan Mentri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat has provoked an outcry

from conservationists when he announced plans to use the army to hunt and kill

all tigers in the state after a rash of attacks on humans.

 

Datuk Nik Aziz, who is also Parti Islam SeMalaysia spiritual leader, issued the

shoot-on-sight order after three rubber tappers were mauled this year in the

Jeli district.

 

'Rubber tappers and fruit collectors are afraid to enter their estates now. The

welfare of tigers cannot be above that of humans,' he said. 'Malaysia already

has far too many tigers...they are better off dead.'

 

An operation involving the army would be carried out, he said, adding that the

state government would be footing the bill. 'I am all for the shooting of the

animals rather than using tranquillisers or traps as these methods will not

solve the problem,' he said.

 

Tigers caught and sent to zoos would cost the government a lot of money to

keep, he added. -- AFP, New Straits Times