(MY) - Championing the rights of wildlife

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Sunday October 2, 2005-The Star

 

 

Championing the rights of wildlife

 

BY SHANTINI SUNTHARAJAH

 

THE men charged, wielding parangs (long knives), and Misliah Mohamad Basir

and her colleagues could do little else but run for their lives.

 

A confrontation of this nature is not unusual in Misliah’s line of work and

it is the main reason why she totes a shotgun while performing her duties.

 

Misliah does not belong to the military or the police force although her job

is related to saving lives – but not human lives. Her chief duty is to

protect and save the lives of endangered animals.

 

Misliah is the director of law and enforcement at the Wildlife and National

Parks Department (Perhilitan).

 

She has been working there for 25 years and has spent the last three of

those in her current position

 

“I joined the (wildlife) department because someone needs to protect the

animals – they cannot do that for themselves,” she says.

 

Despite their best efforts, Misliah says, the odds are stacked against

Perhilitan when it comes to eradicating the illegal wildlife trade in

Malaysia.

 

At the moment, it is not the helpless animals but the merciless profiteers

who continue to thrive.

 

Misliah says that arresting the ‘middlemen’ involved in the trade of the

endangered animals will go a long way towards curbing the crime.

 

“Usually the middleman will get the orang asli to hunt the animals in the

jungles and they then sell the meat to restaurants for a huge profit,” she

explains.

 

Unfortunately, the smugglers, traders and others who have no qualms dealing

in this gruesome business have become wily over the years.

 

But, says Misliah, the enforcement officers are trying to keep up with the

ever-changing methods of operation as best they can.

 

“Nowadays, they don’t use lorries anymore to transport the animals, they use

luxury cars to avoid suspicion,” she says.

 

The department relies heavily on tip-offs from the public, she adds.

 

“Most of our staff are Muslim and this makes it difficult to do undercover

work in restaurants. We ask our informers and the public to help.”

 

Misliah says that enforcement officers have to handle the investigation and

arresting process with extreme caution.

 

If perpetrators have the slightest notion that they are being watched, they

can vanish overnight. Restaurants are shut down, vehicle licence plates

altered and addresses changed.

 

Misliah says that Perhilitan is now trying to provide scientific proof to

ensure prosecution – even when the animals have been reduced to cuts of meat

in a kitchen.

 

“Our experienced officers can look at the meat and tell what animal it's

from, but to confirm we use DNA testing,” says Misliah. “Perhilitan began

working with the Chemistry Department earlier this year.”

 

She explains that the investigation process for each case involves hours and

hours of surveillance and suspects are arrested only when they are

practically caught red-handed.

 

“The burden of proof falls on us, and when we charge them we make sure that

the animals are within their premises.”

 

The enforcement director will never forget a raid carried out by her

division about two years ago where their search unveiled a gruesome

discovery of smuggled pangolins.

 

“I felt very sad because the pangolins were being processed. It was like a

kilang (factory),” she says.

 

Misliah's account paints a shocking picture. She describes how hundreds of

these peaceful creatures were systematically slaughtered, de-scaled, skinned

and cut up before being wrapped in plastic and stored in freezers.

 

It was a highly organised and entirely illegal operation.

 

Pangolins are a “Totally Protected Species” under the Protection of Wildlife

Act 1972 and that means it is illegal to handle them in any way. (For

Protected Species, restricted licenses are issued and monitored by

Perhilitan.)

 

“We caught those involved. There were two Vietnamese and two locals and they

were taken to court,” says Misliah

 

The pangolin meat was destined for China where they would have fetched a

hefty price.

 

“I was told that the meat, once it reached China, would cost a few hundred

US dollars. Even here it costs about RM60 per kilo.”

 

Meanwhile, says Misliah, the perpetrators were jailed for a short time and

fined only a few thousand ringgit.

 

It is not just the suppliers who are punishable by law, she stresses.

 

Anyone who consumes illegal wildlife or helps a hunter to snare endangered

species can be prosecuted in accordance with section 62 of the Protection of

Wildlife Act 1972.

 

“If you eat the meat in a restaurant or follow your friend hunting and help

him carry a bag that wraps the animal, you are considered a collaborator,”

she says.

 

If found guilty, collaborators can be jailed, fined or both.

 

Misliah states that the despite these specifications, the penalties for

trading illegal wildlife in Malaysia are grossly inadequate.

 

“The fines and sentences are too low. We are in the process of amending the

Act,” she says.

 

Misliah is hoping that the amended Act, with much stiffer fines and

penalties, will go a long way toward ending the destruction of Malaysia’s

natural heritage.

 

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