Palm | Kelapa Sawit

The Star 16 Feb 13;

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is in dire need of a specialised environment court to handle cases involving wildlife and environmental crimes, said Malaysian Nature Society president Prof Dr Maketab Mohamed.

He said such a court would result in the appointment of specialist judges well-versed in various acts pertaining to wildlife and nature.

“MNS and other NGOs would be more than happy to conduct dialogues and workshops for judges.

“For example, do they know that the Malayan tiger is critically endangered?,” he said.

Dr Maketab said the most recent example was the disappointing lack of fines meted out to wildlife trader Mohd Nor Shahrizam Nasir despite the fact that he was caught with eight tiger skins, 22 whole tiger bones and nine African elephant tusks.

The Alor Setar Sessions Court sentenced him to a total of 60 months jail 24 months each for possession of tiger skins and bones, and 12 months for the tusks.

However, the sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will spend only two years in jail.

“This means he will spend a little over a month for each of the 22 tigers despite being an accessory to the murder. Is that the value of a tiger, conservation wise?” he asked.