Army Personnel Suspended

Why would a hunter left a dead hornbill after shooting it? Do you think a poacher dare to shoot near army camp? If it was a poacher why didn't the army track down the poacher? There are too many unanswered questions. I just don't believe it. But can you spot the spin?

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Sunday April 3, 2011 MYT 4:50:38 PM Five army personnel suspended for slaughtering hornbill

SHAH ALAM: Five army personnel, including an officer, who slaughtered a great pied hornbill and posed with the dead animal, have been suspended from duties, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

He said the personnel would also be charged under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

The picture of them posing with the slaughtered bird, allegedly taken at the Royal Belum State Park in Perak was published in the local media recently and made its way online, drawing criticisms from environmentalists.

Ahmad Zahid said investigations showed that the bird, a protected species in Malaysia, had been shot by a hunter.

"The bird fell to the ground and upon seeing the dying bird, they slaughtered it," he told reporters after attending a family day at a theme park, here Sunday.

Ahmad Zahid said although the army personnel were not the ones who shot the hornbill, they should have tried to save it. - Bernama

Shame of our Army

Soldiers accused of poaching protected wildlife in Royal Belum, and elsewhere

March 20, 2011 By Bella

Perak’s Royal Belum rainforest in the northern part of Malaysia is an area that is supposed to be totally protected as lying in the frontier areas bordering Thailand; smuggling and poaching activities would be rampant if there was no security. Tourist cannot go there without a permit and the Malaysian Army, especially its soldiers from the Territorial Army, Ranger, and Malay regiments in Perak, has been entrusted to patrol and protect the verdant forest area where rare and endangered animals are said to thrive under the soldier’s guard. Or so it seems.

As it has always been a well-known fact to the general public who have family, relatives, or close friends in the Army, that many of these soldiers are no forest guardian angels, but are actually involved in a great deal of poaching and destructive activities themselves.

However, the saying goes that everything is a rumour unless there is “black and white” proof. So we have for you today, a photo posted on the Facebook profile of a Malaysian soldier who proudly (shamelessly) poses with his fellow soldier friends, with a Rhinoceros Hornbill which looks like it has just been slaughtered. How disgusting!

The guess is that they could have killed it for food. Food that they can very well do without as those who know will attest that the Malaysian Army feeds its soldiers very well. The photo is said to have been taken in Belum. Even if it was not Belum, the Rhinoceros Hornbill wherever in Malaysia for the matter, is a protected species which is already classified as threatened. The Facebook page where the photo was displayed for the world to see, was copied and sent to Peraknews.com by a contact who is involved in various conservation activities in Malaysia including active involvement in Malaysian Nature Society Perak, and WWF.

The source who seeks anonymity for cited reasons, says the photo is just one prove and the tip of the iceberg for the unaccounted atrocities that the so called guardians have unleashed on the helpless animals. “Here we are thinking that Malaysian tigers and rhinos which are on the brink of extinction, are very safe and happy in Belum under Army protection,” he adds.

And now that leads one to wonder who the real poachers are, especially in an area where intruders can be shot on sight. Are outside poachers so daring enough to move in and out of Belum with a dead tiger or two, saddled on their back?

A lot of bickering, finger pointing, denial, and even alteration of facts can be expected after this exposure, but the right thing for the Army to do is to come clean by taking the right action, which is to stop its idle soldiers from participating in destructive activities that are not only detrimental to the surroundings, but also to themselves. Source here

Pagar Makan Padi

I have seen with my own eyes during an expedition into the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve. The army personnels shoot to kill anything with refective eyes at night. In that incident, the eyes of the poor deer was smashed. Blood ozing like hell. The custodians were supposed to keep the forest intact but theirs were that of "Pagar makan padi"....

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When silence is not golden

Monday, 14 March 2011
By Azrina Abdullah, The Sun

THE end of February did not end well for Malaysia’s conservation efforts. Two non-governmental organisations filed police reports over a photo taken of four soldiers holding a majestic hornbill by the wings, with its throat slit. The picture was posted on Facebook with inappropriate captions along the lines of "sedap oooooo" (delicious oooooo). Hornbills are protected in Peninsular Malaysia under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

This news relates to a study conducted by myself and two co-authors, Or Oi Ching and Kamal Solhaimi Fadzil, and published by Universiti Malaya. The study assessed the extent of wildlife trade by orang asli living in the Belum-Temengor Complex in Perak, a gazetted protected area. Orang asli communities living within the 50km radius of the complex were interviewed in 2010 to document their traditional hunting activities and issues affecting their dependency on the surrounding forests.

The survey revealed a not so surprising dependency of orang asli on the forest as an important source of livelihood which remained high despite the degradation of surrounding forests. However, and more importantly, the problem of encroachment, particularly by armed encroachers (both local and foreign), has increased over the past decade. This has affected the livelihood and safety of orang asli communities living in the complex.

The respondents identified parties who they believe are responsible for the overexploitation of forest resources, and nearly 30% stated that outsiders (mainly Cambodians and Thais), Malays from surrounding villages and soldiers are the main perpetrators. Therefore, it is not surprising that 42% of the respondents do not report any suspicious activities to the authorities because they believe that action will not be taken particularly as the enforcement authorities themselves are believed to be involved in poaching activities.

If the recent allegations against the soldiers are confirmed, this finding is something which the government should take seriously. The Defence Ministry has so far kept silent over the police reports and this is sending the wrong message to public about the government’s commitment to conservation. A message needs to be sent that such acts are not to be tolerated. It is a more serious crime when wildlife is killed illegally by those who have responsibility for protecting them and have taken advantage of their position.

As with any other country, Malaysia has inadequate resources allocated for effective wildlife enforcement. It is not a unique problem. But if enforcement officers cannot be trusted, then I despair about the state of our environment. The wildlife in Belum-Temengor will not have much hope of survival if this situation continues. Instead, what is happening in Belum is, on one hand enforcement officers allegedly exploiting precious resources illegally and on the other (based on media reports), parties that are more interested in saving wildlife that are not indigenous to the area. Both situations do not make efforts to save the native wildlife living in the 130-million-year-old forest complex any easier. Where has all the common sense gone?

Azrina Abdullah is conducting research on the links between indigenous groups and wildlife trade. She was regional director of Traffic, an NGO which monitors the global wildlife trade.