Seasons Come Seasons Go

Seasons come seasons go. Life must go on. Time to go, we will go. But have you ever wonder why nature gives us the seasons? Why the monsoons?

Fish Need Food
Need I explain these: Big fish feed on small fish. Small fish feed on plankton. Plankton feed on wood. Woods come from trees. Monsoon brings down trees & debris into the sea. Plankton multiplies. Fish multiplies. Fishermen enjoy bountiful harvest. That was the reason why there were good catch after the 2004’s Tsunami – big prawns and big fish.

That is the main reason why we need monsoon to sustain nature. We need the monsoon so that human do not intervene. Human do not visit. Nature left alone so that it could rejuvenate back to anew – and for human to enjoy again. That is the law of nature.

If you have joined my trip, you will notice that I always avoid monsoon. I don’t go to Taman Negara Kuala Tahan or Koh Samui, Thailand during the months of November to January. Instead during this same period, I make trips to Taratao National Park.

But, human are now trying to play God. Human are defying nature. If that is so, more disaster will be waiting in store – plane crashes, boat overturns campers die from fallen trees and whatever.

In Bolehland, the monsoons are treated as festival regardless of the consequences that can inflict on nature. Don’t get me wrong. I am not against tourism. But my love for the sustainable nature of my country should be maintained for nature.

Three Events during the Monsoon get me worried.
First - You would have heard about the rescue operation of the 4X4 expedition near Gua Musang last week.
Second – Early December, the highest paid prize money for the world famous Monsoon Cup.
Third - From 15th Dec to 31st Dec 2007 there will be the Taman Negara Fest.

Back in the old days, Taman Negara Fest was held around the low season in July. But with greed and business interests above all else, the fest is held right in the middle of the monsoon! It was in the news – flooding in Johore, Pahang, Trengganu and Kelantan since 15th December. There could be issues of safety when many visitors arriving onto the park during the raining season. There are concerns of swift, rushing Sg Tembeling which every visitor need to cross to get into Taman Negara Kuala Tahan.

During the monsoon, wild animals roam freely. I remember some 10 years ago when footprints of Malayan tiger were seen off the trail to Bukit Teresek. The off-trail was closed after the sighting of the footprints.

If you go to Taratao National Park of Thailand, the park will be closed during the monsoon. Nature is given a chance to rejuvenate and refresh itself after the harm done by the tourists. This is what we called SUSTAINABLE TOURISM.

I am not going to be the spoiler for the festival. What I am trying to say is let nature rejuvenate itself. You as an eco-tourist should be responsible. You can help by avoiding these places during the monsoon – for your safety as well as for the welfare of nature.

Are we on the right step towards sustaining nature or more of sustaining profit? So where are you going this Xmas and New Year holidays?

Wishing You A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year 2008.

In The Year 2525

The song "In The Year 2525" was released in 1969 by Zager & Evans. It will be 40 years in 2009.

Although the years mentioned in the song were thousand years later, now not even 40 years, we are seeing the prophecy coming true from the song. Test tube baby is one example - it was a fiction in 1969, right?

Please read through the lyrics and ponder over them. Let me know if we are doing the right thing to our Mother earth.

Click to listen to the mid

IN THE YEAR 2525

by Zager & Evans

In the year 2525
if man is still alive
if woman can survive
They may find.....

In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do, or say
Is in the pill you took today

In the year 4545
You ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to chew
Nobody's gonna look at you

In the year 5555
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you

In the year 6565
You won't need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long glass tube

In the year 7510
If God's a-coming, He oughta make it by then
Maybe He'll look around Himself and say
"Guess it's time for the judgement day"

In the year 8510
God is gonna shake His mighty head
He'll either say "I'm pleased where man has been"
Or tear it down, and start again

In the year 9595
I'm kinda wonderin' if man is gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain't put back nothing

Now it's been ten thousand years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what, he never knew
Now man's reign is through

But through eternal night
The twinkling of starlight
So very far away
Maybe it's only yesterday

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive
They may find.......



Are we taking everything this old earth can give?
More non-fiction news :-
Pollution breeds sexless fish in Washington, US.
Abnormal male fish carrying undeveloped eggs.
Scientists suspect linked to chemical in the water that are wreaking havoc on fish hormones.

The Aliens Are Coming

I received a video on the aggressive appetite of a piranha. Found in South American rivers. Not sure where this video was taken. Could the video originated from Malaysia? I hope not. But anything is possible in Bolehland. The lake looks like a typical mining pool in Malaysia. The person handling the piranha looks like Malaysian.


The introduction of alien species have been going on for many years in Bolehland. The authorities are lukewarm to the issues. Drop by any pet shop in town and you will understand what I meant. Exotic, rare, unheard of animals, endangered and even protected animals are being sold openly. Where is the enforcement? Well, in a country called Bolehland, if you have money you can buy anything under the sky.

Even in Japan, the Bluegill Fish is giving problem to the local species. Now the Emperor of Japan has regret for importing the fish from US some 50 years ago.

Above, letter to the editor reported (the Star 11 Nov 07) that the Northern Pike, a predatory fish have been caught in our local waters. We have seen how US realises that alien species like our Malaysian Snakehead fish are preying and decimating the local American fish. Likewise our Malaysian species are also in such danger.

But sadly our authorities have not taken any serious action to stop nor prevent the importation of "dangerous pet". In the meantime, more "dangerous" and preying pets will be introduced into Bolehland. Our future generations will bear the consequences.

Are you accessory to these pet trades - as a buyer, an importer or a pet shop owner?

Say NO.

Or one day your grand children won't be able to reach our lakes.

Thats the consequences.

There Is No Border

From LI Yifang Forest campaigner Greenpeace China:

I started to write my blog on a major Chinese website since my arrival at the Forest Defenders Camp. Now it has already got 260,000 hits. A guy left a message like this, “Indonesia people used to treat our people badly. Why we help them to save their forest? ”

I consider this as a common query in Chinese people’s mind. All I want to answer is, “We are not just helping them; we are helping ourselves.” Even something unhappy happened in the past between us, we won’t be better off if the whole Indonesia becomes a desert. Deforestation makes Indonesia the third largest GHG emitter in the world. And the climate change impacts are not restricted in some certain countries. If we keep doing what we are doing now, 80% of Himalaya’s glacier will be melted; there will be more floods, more tsunamis, and more droughts. And no one is gonna escape from that.

Surely, we used to think in the logic of “my back yard”, “my community”, and “my country”…I am no exception. When I was in the Europe, western people criticized about China being the largest emitter of GHG, I replied as “then what did your country do in the past century?” But when talking about the solution of the world’s environmental crisis, there is no national border any more. We have to consider the planet as a whole.

Taking the forest destruction in Indonesia as an example:
Timber is certainly harvested in Indonesia, but then export to China. After that EU and the US import plywood and wood floor from China. So who should we blame in this chain, source of the timber, producers, dealer, retailers or the end consumer?
So let’s face it. We have no other choice but work together. Stop sitting there and blaming each other, we don’t have time for this. Take some real action now! At the end of the day, it is our common future; it is we sharing responsibility.

Ban on climate calamity

Ban Ki-moon flew to Antarctica Friday (9 Nov 2007) on a climate change fact-finding mission, becoming the first UN leader to make an official visit to the frozen continent.

Some of the statements worth reflecting on:

"The Antarctica is 20 percent of the total surface of the world, but a small change here amplifies many times in the rest of the planet," Kevin Kihm Kim, head of the Sejong Research Centre, told AFP.

"You have seen the melting of glaciers," he continued. "The glaciers of King George Island have shrunken by 10 percent recently. If the international community does something now we will be able to prevent a further progress of the global warming."

“We all agree, Climate change is real, and we humans are its chief cause. Yet even now, few people fully understand the gravity of the threat, or its immediacy,” the UN chief wrote in a commentary in the International Herald Tribune.

“I am not scare-mongering. But I believe we are nearing a tipping point,” he wrote.

“I have always considered global warming to be a matter of utmost urgency. Now I believe we are on the verge of a catastrophe if we do not act.”

Belum Shocker & Shocker Broom

Strange isn't it? - completed in 2004 and still unoccupied till Nov 2007.

Something is very fishy. Could be the Toman fish, or maybe the expensive Kelah!

An interesting opinion from The Star, Friday November 16, 2007

A familiar chain of reactions

PARDON the pun but I was appalled when I read your headline shocker “Belum shocker” (The Star, Nov 15).

Again, it shows how short our memory is when it comes to safety. Skirt the issue and remain in denial if we want, but stupidity is the order of the day.

Do we need another tragedy ala Highland Towers to knock sense into the powers-that-be? What’s the use of remedial measures when the obvious signs of imminent danger appear and with tragedy rearing its ugly head?

The statements made by various quarters in the aftermath smack of our typical Malaysian way of handling a disaster – the ACA will be called in to probe, the contractor/s responsible will be hauled up, the services of a consultant will be secured to investigate the cause of the collapse, ad nauseam.

This chain of reactions is all too familiar to us. This vicious cycle clearly haunts us, and every now and then when a tragedy of such magnitude happens, we will hear the baying for blood.
The fatal bus crash in Perak not too long ago, and the more recent ferry disaster of Pulau Tioman certainly ring loud. The sure things emerging from investigations into such tragedies are the blatant disregard for enforcement and the failure to adhere to regulations and specifications.
Next thing we know, we spend more resources to set up a panel of inquiry.
How many more Belum shockers, Highland Towers collapses, bus crashes, ferry tragedies do we need before we really do something?

I dread to think of what it entails in terms of resources to find out the cause of this collapse. One pertinent question begs to be answered – was there adequate survey and research conducted to ascertain the suitability of the site?

While we are here tightening our purses with the recent rise in price of several essential goods and bracing for further fuel and toll increases, we see RM4.5mil being swept away (again, pun intended).

We are told to live within our means while we struggle to manage our purse-strings on our retarded salaries. But, the cries from the masses are often muffled by irresponsible authorities that do not realise that a stroke of their pen could mean the end of some lives.

We can count our blessings that we suffered no casualties in Belum.
But, really, we need to go back to the drawing board, examine our own conscience and wield the proverbial stick, if necessary, to ensure no corners are cut, no regulations flouted and, in one fell swoop, weed out the corrupted.

Kudos to Selangor Mentri Besar with his latest move to ensure that under-performers are appropriately “rewarded”.

There will be dissatisfaction by some due to the social connotation of shame and humiliation, but we need not fear if we live by our conscience and do not shortchange anyone in our dealings with them.

CAROL LEI,
Kuala Lumpur.

MALAYSIA BOLEH!

Orang Asli - The Simpliest People

Orang Asli - the indigenous people of Malaysia.

Simple, little need, stay put through good time or bad time.

Can we match them?

Read this article from the The Star, Monday November 5, 2007

Young teacher gives stirring speech of how orang asli persevere
By SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: At first glance, Tijah Yok Chopli strikes one as a petite and demure orang asli.

Tijah: Believes that the

Federal Constitution

has fallen short of fulfilling

its purpose

But when she speaks, you are caught in a powerhouse of energy, honesty and passion.
The young teacher from Bidor was just one of more than 100 panellists at the recent 14th Malaysian Law Conference, but this non-lawyer brought home powerfully the importance of the Federal Constitution and of constitutionalism for marginalised peoples.

“I think the colonials thought of this place as Tanah Melayu because they went to the estuaries or the edges of the jungles where they met Malays only,” she said.

Speaking in Bahasa Malaysia on “Orang Asli and our Constitution – Protecting Indigenous' Customs and Cultural Rights”, Tijah showed that the Constitution had fallen short in fulfilling its purpose.

Tijah, who is a Senoi, confessed that when she was given the topic to talk on, she had no idea what the Constitution was apart from a vague memory of the reference in the Rukunegara to its supremacy.

However, she set herself the task of reading it and was surprised by what it contained.
Tijah said the orang asli may not know about the Constitution but they lived by their own constitution and laws.

“We have our own groups and districts and zones and make decisions by consensus. We build on the policy of sharing and living in harmony with each other and with nature.

“Our lives are stress-free, unlike urban life which is wreaked with rape here and there, kidnapping here and there, and house break-ins here and there.

“I can pull my collar up with pride,” she said, and did just that.

Unlike many who left Malaysia during the 1997 economic crisis, Tijah said the orang asli stayed put: “Whether the economy is good or bad, we are poor.”

“We are not anti-development. I too want money, to be rich, to have a car, to have development but not to the extent that we lose our customs and values,” she said.

Fellow panellist Centre for Orang Asli Concerns coordinator Dr Colin Nicholas said the orang asli were not just attached to a plot of land but a particular geographical space.

“It is the basis of their spirituality and the source of their identity. They want their land on their terms,” he said, adding that the orang asli had been clearly left out when the Constitution was drafted.

Universiti Malaya Faculty of Law deputy dean (research and development) Dr Ramy Bulan said the preservation of indigenous peoples languages was important.

“Without language, dances and ceremonies are debased to mere entertainment,” she said.

Filthy Penang

Crows shooting in Penang. Read the story below. Click to enlarge.




Birds are the natural indicator of our environment. When you have more crows than other birds, then I can correctly predict that there is lots of rubbish around.

Crows feed on throwaway, discarded food, leftovers and even carcasses - yunno like the dead dog on the road. Who would want to clean up the dead dog - the council trash contractors? No, it was the crows. In fact the crows are the nature, unpaid, God-sent-servants, to clean the messes.

So why shoot them?

Well, everywhere in the world - even in country with snow, you can see crows. In some countries, the population of the crows is less while for some, a culling need to be done. In Penang, apparently the population has exploded.

Is there an alternative?

Yes. Clean environment. Proper management of rubbish. Waste less. And you could control the population.

Yes. God also sent another natural control for crows. The Koels. They are the cuckoos which will raid crows’ nests and deposit their own eggs. The crows will naturally feed the young hatchings not knowing they were Koels’. In this way, the population of crows will be under control.

See, nature always has a way to control. Human always come and spoilt it.

I am wondering how the 15 marksmen will be able to differential the Koels from the Crows! Both are black. Both having the same size. Except the Koels have RED eyes. For RM2.2o per bird, they could be shooting whatever that’s black!

"When people are cruel to animals they will be cruel to one another"- Herbert N. Casson

Wood Museum (Xylarium)

Click the cutting to enlarge

Sometime in August 2006, they said a wood museum will be built by mid 2007 at Crag Hotel, Penang.

Now, it was announced that the wood museum will be incorporated at the Penang Forestry Museum. This should have be the obvious choice from the beginning. Anyway, it was a wise decision to incorporate it at the Penang Forestry Museum.

I would wonder about the wastage on our taxpayers’ money spent on cleanup and beautification of Crag Hotel for the 2.5m project.

Forestry Department should be the custodian for forests – plants, trees, herbs and conservation. It makes more sense that Wildlife Department should be the custodian for wildlife.

But in Bolehland, Reptile Farm will be found in Forestry Museum. Forestry’s staffs will have little time for forest management. Pity them. Beside the high cost of maintaining the reptiles, the focus on forestry will be lacking. Reptiles will die. Pity them.

When I was there in August 2007, the herbs garden at the Forestry Museum was in a deplorable state. Go there and look for yourself.

The mini bird park at the Forestry Museum is another example. The cage was beyond repair. No birds were seen. Perhaps already cooked in curry. Pity them.

Pity them (staffs, reptiles & birds).

But who cares - Beasts Are Beasts.

BTW, pity us (taxpayers) too, our money wasted by incompetent elected representatives.

Kelantan still notorious for wildlife smuggling

After trailing for SIX hours, a smuggler could easily jump off and ROW a boat across a river and escape! This can only happen in Bolehland!!! Read the story below.

From The Star
Wednesday October 17, 2007
Kelantan still notorious for wildlife smuggling
By IAN MCINTYRE

KOTA BARU: Kelantan continues to be a hotspot for wildlife trafficking despite various efforts to smash syndicates smuggling out protected and exotic species.

The conclusion was reached after an anti-smuggling unit recently thwarted an attempt to smuggle out the carcass of a two-year-old female black panther at the border township of Rantau Panjang, 50km from here.

Wildlife enforcement officials accompanied by the anti-smuggling team trailed a suspected smuggler for six hours last Thursday near the township before intercepting his car at about 5pm.

The suspect abandoned his car, jumped into a boat and rowed through Sungai Golok to reach the Thai side.

A state Wildlife and National Parks Department spokesman confirmed that the panther, worth an estimated RM16,000, was the work of a syndicate and investigations were underway to nab the culprits.

The carcass is currently stored at the department’s office as part of the investigation and it is believed that the protected species was killed in a Kuala Krai forest.

According to Traffic South East Asia (Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network) senior programming officer Chris Shepherd, the porous boundary conditions are ideal grounds for organised smuggling of wildlife, notably leopards, tigers, pangolins and freshwater turtles.

Malaysia as a member of Asean, is increasingly under threat from transboundary smuggling and the resulting effect is dwindling numbers of protected species and exotic animals, Shepherd said.

“The entire region is facing increasing pressure from wildlife smuggling. Enforcement authorities are struggling to keep abreast of the tactics of organised wildlife smugglers.
“What has been detected is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

Kelantan is a traditional smugglers den and it is also a top transit route used by wildlife smugglers to send across shipments to Thailand and China where the black panther is destined for the cooking pot.

To make matters worse, Malaysians are increasingly fond of exotic animal meat.
Despite the presence of wildlife conservationist groups such as World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Malaysia) and various campaigns here, the state continues to be notorious for wildlife smuggling.

Penang Hill - The Consequences

While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions - Stephen R. Covey


In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences - Robert Green Ingersoll

Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos - Francis Ford Coppola

Consequences are unpitying - George Eliot

You can do anything in this world if you are prepared to take the consequences - William Somerset Maugham

It's a different ball game these days, but you're never going to get rid of corruption as long as there's power and money - Bryan Brown

"It's Built On Private Land"

Moniot Road is named after a Frenchman, Michel Jules Moniot, who surveyed it between 1846 and 1855. Penang Hill has been a popular holiday retreat for the Mat Sallehs. Before the furnicular train (and later the Jeep Road), the only access up the hill was by horseback or by sedan chairs carried by coolies through Moniot Road. Later, the road was then tarred but then it was only for horse drawn carriages. It was abandoned when furnicular train was servicable in 1926.

This part of Moniot Road has always be a motorcycle lane since I came to know the trail in 1985. This road could not be suitable for modern day vehicles. Suddenly, sometime in Aug 2007, it was bulldozed. Picture below.

"It's built on private land", they said. How to believe if there is a signboard to prove otherwise?

Aug 2007

Oct 2007 - then they cemented it.

The Consequences You See Today

This tree is counting its day... if not for the Forest Reserve signboard, this tree would have long gone....

More consequences of building steep road on hilly terrain in my next chapter. When are they going to learn?

Capitalism IS Wastage

Don't get me wrong. I am not a socialist or a communist. I love freedom of speech. I love the environment. But our "materialism" and "consumerism" are getting us into deep shit of environmental disasters. Lets ponder over what Ben O'Neill said:

There was a time when the advocates of socialism argued that it would lead man to material abundance, whereas free-market capitalism would lead only to increasing misery and would ultimately collapse under its own internal stresses. You don't hear that too much these days, and for good reason. A century of empirical evidence has shown the contrary — that the free market leads to increasing wealth and material freedom, while socialism leads us only to poverty, state supremacy, and ultimately, mass murder.

These days the attack has shifted. Capitalism does not lead us to poverty; it leads us to too much wealth. This makes us "greedy" and "materialistic." It leads us to excessive "consumerism."

- Ben O'Neill in his article "Does Capitalism Make Us More Materialistic?" Quote and cartoon from http://www.mises.org/story/2697


Excessive consumerism means wastage. Companies need to sell as much as possible. Stakeholders want to profit to the maximum. Citizens want to live with all the material goods.
Every year, you read about extraordinary profits by big corporations. More profits, more projects. More projects, more development. More development, more land needed... and so more trees cut, more pollution, more floodings and eventually disaster after disaster. Corporations rarely think about environment. They think about profit. They want more. They will do whatever necessary even to the extend of destroying nature for an extra dollar.

Do we need Capitalism in this fragile environment?

Koel in Kiasuland

Since when do the singing of birds annoy anyone?

Apparently there are still people in Kiasuland who think that when they stay at a place called Pasir Ris, that place is his – any bird that sing around that area should be a nuisance.

An asshole just has such stupidity. Did he know that the birds were living there long before him or his great grandfather? The birds have more right than that asshole. Just because the birds do not pay taxes while that asshole does, did not give him the right to have the singing terminated!

The singing bird is called Koel. A black bird with fiery red eyes. It has a part in our ecosystem. If there are crows, there will be Koels. They control the population of crows. They will kick out the crow’s eggs and replace with their own. The mother crow will nurse the Koel’s chicks like her own. Isn’t that a wonderful way of nature to control crows?

So, if you kill the Koels – the consequences – more crows!
So, if you want to get rid of the “lousy singing” Koels then you should keep your compound clean! No crows, no Koels. It’s that simple!

Probably because that asshole pays big taxes and talk loud, the council people could chop down the tree…as killing of birds will be inhumane. Well, I don’t know what will happen next. Let’s wait and see.

Oh, in Bolehland, I guess the Koel would be catapulted to death. That is Bolehland!

Read the story from the Electric New Paper:

"I AM a resident of Pasir Ris.

Since early August, there has been a bird singing loudly in a tree near my flat on Street 52 between 5.45am to 6.30am every day.

I called Pasir Ris Town council in mid-August explaining that the bird is disturbing my sleep.

They promised to investigate.

For the next six weeks, I made about five calls to the town council, including asking to talk to the general manager.

But all I got was the response that they would investigate and someone would call me back.

For that six weeks, I was forced to wake up at 6am - even on Saturdays and Sundays, days that I do not work.

Six weeks later, the town council came back to me with this: that the bird making the sound is a bird called 'koel'.

It also said that the bird is on the tree which happens to fall into the jurisdiction of either the Public Utilities Board or the National Environment Agency.So it will get the relevant agency to give me a call.

What I don't understand is why it took six weeks to come back to me on something that can be accomplished in two hours.

What is the use of telling me the type of bird?

Does the problem go away for me if the tree falls under the PUB or NEA jurisdiction?

I woke up at 6am over the weekend on Saturday and wrote this letter.Each month, I receive a conservation fee statement from my town council for monthly payments, and I have been paying it every month.

Each year, I fill my tax forms, and understand that some of the tax money I pay is channelled towards the public service including the town councils.

I was told that if I do not fulfil such payments, I will be jailed or fined heavily.

But if I do pay, it seems there is no guarantee that the payment will be used to hire public servants who can solve problems or at least empathise with me".

Poaching In Kiasuland

I would like to share with you our neighbour seriousness on poaching by Sheralyn Tay. Can Bolehland be as tough?

NParks gets tough as poaching is on the rise here
By Sheralyn Tay
USING one bird as bait, Masod bin Mohamed had hoped to lure and catchmore, but the 33-year-old was nabbed in February by the authoritiesinstead. Masod was arrested at the Mayflower Crescent playground by a NationalParks Board (NParks) ranger and, on Sept 11, became the first person hereto be charged and convicted of poaching, in a magistrate's court. He wasslapped with the maximum penalty - a fine of $2,000.

Wildlife experts here say that Masod's case is not an isolated one. Animal activists believe poaching is a problem as wildlife numbers arediminishing.

But the authorities are getting tough.

Since 2000, NParks have issued compound fines to more than 300 people forcapturing fishes and animals in parks and nature reserves. Compound finesare meted on the spot, like parking fines.

In August, the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) - for the firsttime - fined a poacher $500 for trapping birds in Changi.

Masod's conviction is a signal that they take a firm stand against against trapping, especially when it is for personal gain, said Ms Sharon Chan, NParks' assistant director of the central nature reserve.

"Much effort has been put into conserving our natural heritage for the public to enjoy and to make Singapore a unique urban city rich in bio-diversity. We have to take a strong stand against poachers who are destroying all these for their own short-term profit."

The AVA only allows the house crow, feral pigeon, purple-backed starling, Philippine glossy starling, common myna and the white-vented myna to be trapped and kept without a licence.

Hot spots for poachers include Pasir Ris Park, Khatib Bongsu and Seletar Airbase, and common targets for poachers are freshwater fish, flying lemurs and water monitor lizards as well as songsbirds, which are either sold or kept as pets.

But small animals are not the only ones being trapped. Last weekend, Mr Ben Lee, founder and head of Nature Trekker, a non-profit organisation, discovered a large boar trap in the foliage on Pulau Ubin.

On Saturday, he found a second trap (picture) large enough to hold 25 men.

"I mistook it for someone's house," he said, adding that in most cases, boars were often caught to be eaten. However, Mr Grant Pereira, head of the Green Volunteers Network, noted that the traps may have been set by farmers to control the large boar population, which wreak havoc on crops. "But it's a slippery slope; once you start trapping, it can … become exploitative," he said.

Poaching, he added, has affected wildlife numbers. In the last 30 years, the numbers of birds and fishes have been diminishing. According a recent study by bird watchers, 44 bird species have become extinct.

"We need more awareness, and more incentive for people to report traps when they see them," Mr Pereira said.

Seen a trap or a poacher? Report it to the NParks Helpline at 1-800-4717300 or the AVA at 6227 0670.

Beasts Are Beasts - Who Cares!

BIG headline : 600 fish die at Langkawi Underwater World

LANGKAWI: About 600 fish worth hundreds of thousands of ringgit have mysteriously died at Langkawi Underwater World.......(The Star, 26 Sept 2007)

In Bolehland, beasts are beasts. So who cares whether they live or die. The stories of dead animals in parks, sanctuaries, zoos and other so-called tourism attractions had became cemeteries for many animals.

These cruel deeds will not stop when there are humans who are willing to gain by caging the beasts. Once in a while there will be some big guns embarking on a mammoth project. The elephant sanctuary, the rhinoceros sanctuary, safari parks - many had failed, many beasts dead, much taxpayers' monies lost...but no one seems to learn. NO ONE!

Bolehland is the place where uncompetent people seem to take charge of such projects. People who have no interest of animals at heart. People who want quick profit from the beasts. And these people have the resources to cause hardship to many.

History will be repeated again and again. Check below some of the deads while in custodian in Bolehland.


The headline today - The Star 26 Sept 2007

600 fish dead! And few billion dollars?

Click to enlarge the table. Notice that some sanctuaries have more dead elephants - a case of incompetent and poor management?

Carelessness was the right word used in this article when the Rhinoceros santuary was enventually wiped out of the beasts.

When are we going to learn that animals are best left alone in the wild?

When are we going to stop playing God?

Malaysia's Oil Fields

I hardly read business news. But "Buoyed by oils" (CSTan Starbiz, 17 Sept 07) and "Need for New Resources" (M Ariff, Star 17 Sept 07) caught my attention.

According to Petronas, our crude oil reserves will last for another 20 years. But independent analyst forecasted 4.2 billion barrels which could last only 14 years.

20 or 14 years - whoever may be right; they are not far from year 2007.

That means the year 2027 or 2021 will be the end of our country's fossil fuel! Then what?

Given the high contribution from oil to Government coffers of 34.4% in 2006, we are definitely heading for a beak future. (M Ariff, Star 17 Sept 07)

I may not be around but future generation will not enjoy the same subsidies & free amenities.

If the present wastages in the name of growth and development of "white elephants" do not contain; I believe anarchy will be the days to come.

Can the people of bolehland live without subsidy? I doubt.

Every services - including use of roads will be heavily taxed. The rich will get richer while the poor will be poorer. ANARCHY rules!

However, with the increase production of Palm Oil and the expected increase in the price of the commodity, revenue is expected to increase to replace the contribution from fossil fuel.

Our future lies in Oil Palm?

And so more lands will be needed to plant Oil Palms.

And more jungles will be replaced with plantations.

And more trees will be logged.

And more damages to ecosystem.



You won't be able to drink from the taps - as most rivers would be heavily polluted.
You have to wear masks - as the haze has gone to a critical level.
You have to pay more taxes - as the government need money for development.


It all boiled down to the incompetent and corrupt management in my country called Bolehland. Sad indeed.


That day is coming. Can you stop it?
Apocalypse.

Boleh & Ta'Boleh

by Pipit

Two interesting articles caught my eye in the NST of 14 Sept.

1st - Thailand boleh! Tilapia fish skin can now be recycled to make handbags, shoes and even bikinis. A photo shows model wearing tilapia skin bikini.

2nd – Malaysia Ta’boleh! Malaysia has the honour of being the country with the only species to be declared extinct in 2007 so far. And not just Malaysia but good old Penang! The woolly-stalked begonia found only in Pulau Betong has not been sighted for the last 100 years inspite of extensive searches. And they are continuing to cut the forest to widen roads in Penang Hill! Sometimes Malaysia Boleh as well.



Reference : http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/20070914083815/Article/index_html

When people are cruel to animals they will be cruel to one another

“Always be kind to dumb animals. Cruelty is one of the most hateful vices, and matured nations are trying to put an end to it. When people are cruel to animals they will be cruel to one another. As human nature ripens, there will be more kindness, sympathy and pity. Some horses and dogs are worthy of our respect as well as of our kindness. Some dogs are more sensitive and intelligent than some men. They have character, but they are handicapped by dumbness. If your dog could talk, you would be surprised at what he knows”.
- Herbert N. Casson

The Government of Bolehland is managed by CRUEL people and so THEY will be CRUEL to us – maybe not today but you can see the coming of that day.

Three CASES of cruelty to ANIMALS in the news within a week :-
1. Dogs shooting competition
2. Exporting Monkeys
3. Destroying Pigs in Malacca (stop by blockage)

Remember this : When people are cruel to animals they will be cruel to one another

Why? Why do dogs and monkeys pose menace to society? Read Lejane Hardy reasoning below. But how about PIGS? Simple :- the people who were entrusted to do the job of monitoring the pig farms were sleeping (or on the take?) and that lead to over population of pigs. And thus the pollution from the farms! Who is to blame? The PIGS?? Which pigs? You might be asking. You guess!

I'll never visit Malaysia
Lejane Hardy

I refer to the malaysiakini report Howls of protest over 'nab the dog' contest.

Just when I thought I had seen and heard it all, along comes another bizarre suggestion from a government in the East, namely to sponsor a stray dog-catching competition for the public.

Stray animals are our fault; they are there because we neglect to concentrate on proper neutering programmes which require some effort on our part and because too many people simply don’t care. They dump their dogs and cats out into the world to fend for themselves

And I can see that in Malaysia, it is more a case of defending themselves against everyone else including those who should be putting into place compassionate methods of solving this problem, namely the government.

Yet you are gleefully joining in to make the lives of these animals even worse by recommending a ‘competition’ to catch and eventually destroy them so that tourists cannot see how bad you are at looking after the most helpless in your country.

I, for one, will never visit a country who cannot look after its sentient beings in a compassionate manner and find you contemptible for even making a suggestion such as this and promoting such a disgusting event.

The writer is chairperson, Capetonians against Animal Abuse and editor for ‘Animal Activist Network News’.
Reference : http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/72257

Be Sensitive To the Environment - by Toking Kok

The numbers indicated the whereabout of the photos being shot.
The pictures below will tell the TRUTH.




6 - Before reaching Brothers' Bungalow from Air Itam.

5 - Around Brothers' Bungalow.

4 - Around Moniot Road.

4-5 Between Brothers' Bungalow and Moniot Road.

3 - Between Viaduct Road and Moniot Road

"NO DAMAGE.

NO VIOLATION.

ONLY 3 TREES CUT.

BAMBOO BEING PLANTED"

by TOKING KOK