Illegal hunting NGOs are stumped that cops not willing to meet
Published on: Saturday, February 07, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: More than a year after first writing to the State police headquarters on illegal hunting of wildlife, non-governmental organisations here are stumped that their appeals to meet with the police have fallen on deaf ears.In a statement, NGOs stressed that if left unchecked, illegal hunting will lead to further loss of Sabah's wildlife and that as the agency entrusted to uphold the law, the police have a responsibility to sit with civil society and find solutions to the long standing problem. The six are 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) and WWF-Malaysia.
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Another NGO, Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa) is not a signatory of letters to the police, but has stated its support in raising the matter.LEAP Executive Director Cynthia Ong said it is unacceptable for the police to not provide the group with answers despite ordering a probe to be carried out."We know from our communications that the Special Branch launched an investigation following our second letter in which we included a photo of a shotgun bullet shell. I personally spoke with the investigating officer and we know that police had also been in touch with WWF-Malaysia's Sabah office."After following up several times we found out that a report of the investigation was submitted to the Police Commissioner's office. We were not informed of the findings, even after sending a third letter to the police in December last year," Ong said on Thursday.
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Citing the chronology, Ong said the first letter dated Jan 27, 2014 to the then Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib was initially met with positive response and a meeting was confirmed verbally for Feb 24.However, the meeting was called off three days prior, citing a visit by the Inspector General of Police to the Sabah contingent as the reason.
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The group was subsequently informed to wait for a response, and received a brief letter dated Mar 10 stating that illegal hunting does not fall under the purview of the police, and that the group should refer the matter to the relevant department, without naming an agency.After further deliberations, the group sent a second letter dated June 23 to reiterate its desire to meet, and to inform the police it has information that may even implicate security forces. The group did not hear anything back formally, and only found out through personal communication that an investigation was ordered.The group decided to send a third letter on Dec 17 to request for feedback after it had been informed the probe was completed and that a report was sent to the Police Commissioner's office. The third letter was copied to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman in his capacity as the State Security Committee chairman, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.Ong said in the final letter, the agency was informed the group would go to the media as it had a responsibility to share with the public what it knows."We still did not hear back from them and on Jan 27 – exactly a year after the first letter, we made some calls and were passed around, including to Bukit Aman."An officer in Bukit Aman advised us that this is a Sabah matter and beyond the IGP's jurisdiction and to once again approach Sabah police, and also described it as a 'small matter'. He added that if we did not get a satisfactory response, we can write in to him."Today, we are no closer to finding out the conclusion of the report, and we are losing hope of meeting with the police. The fact that there is no meeting or response speaks louder than words," she said.WWF-Malaysia Executive Director/CEO Dato' Dr Dionysius Sharma said the recent revelation by Sabah Forestry Department Director Datuk Sam Mannan that poaching of wildlife in Sabah has reached "pandemic proportions" should prompt the police to meet NGOs in order to identify ways to tackle this threat."If nothing is done urgently, the forests in Sabah may become void of large mammals, which would be a terrible blow not only to the development of tourism in the State, but also to our own future," he said.BCT Technical Advisor Raymond Alfred said their work on the ground has revealed evidence of hunting along the boundary of plantations and forest reserves, indicating that it is common."If this cannot be prevented, or if there is no serious enforcement or even feedback from the police, I believe we will lose our wildlife very quickly. Create a systematic approach to enable tracking back bullet casing so that we can trace individuals hunting in forest reserves," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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