A letter today in Malaysian press from Sean Whyte,, head of Nature Alert,calls for new leadership in Malaysia’s Wildlife Department. Recall that Minister Douglas Uggah Embas vowed to reform Perhilitan last year, including rotation of top personnel. If history is a guide, these promises were designed to stop the public from complaining, but will not be put into full effect.
Yesterday, I said that writing letters is an important tool for those interested in doing something when it comes to illegal wildlife trade. Here is an example, appearing today, in Malaysia:
Corruption taking the bite out of Perhilitan
by Sean Whyte | Mar 29 from Malaysiakini.comI refer to the letter Tiger battle: Take up call to arms with a roar. Time and again one reads of so-called legally protected wildlife being either caught in or, illegally traded (laundered) through Malaysia. Millions of birds and animals have been sent to a cruel death in foreign countries such as China and the United States with Perhilitan making no serious effort to stop it. Why would this be?
According to the prestigious National Geographic magazine it is largely because of corruption within Perhilitan; something of an open secret anyway.
How do the people of Malaysia feel about their country being (more…)