PETALING JAYA: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) will undergo a shake-up to weed out officers who are in cahoots with illegal wildlife traders.

The department has been dogged with allegations of corruption among its enforcement officers following the arrest of infamous wildlife trader Anson Wong recently.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said this was among the measures being taken to plug loopholes and enhance enforcement in the department, which had come under fire from conservationists.

We have set up an internal audit. We are reviewing the standard operating procedures, legislation and departmental structure, he said.

Asked if Perhilitan officers had been helping illegal wildlife traders, Uggah said: Those are some of the issues we are looking at.

We do not condone anyone who breaks or fails to enforce the law. We will take stern action.

Uggah, who acknowledged that illegal wildlife trade was a very lucrative business, urged the public to come forward if they had evidence of such collaboration so that action could be taken.

He said experts and non-governmental organisations would be brought in as part of the process to review current procedures in the department.

The ministry, particularly Perhilitan, had been heavily criticised following Wongs arrest for trying to smuggle out 95 boa constrictors without a permit.

Wong, who was caught at the KL International Airport on Aug 26 while on transit from Penang to Jakarta, was sentenced on Sept 6 to six months jail and fined RM190,000 by the Sepang Sessions Court.

Many groups, however, were unhappy with the sentence. Wong had previously been sentenced to 71 months jail by the United States for illegal wildlife trafficking.

The Attorney-Generals Chambers has since appealed against the sentencing for the latest offence.

Following Wongs arrest, the Penang National Park and Wildlife Department director was reportedly transferred to another state effective Oct 1.

International magazines such as National Geographic had highlighted Malaysia in their articles as the so-called hub for illegal wildlife trafficking.

Uggah said the ministry was working with several agencies, including Rela, the military, police and Maritime Enforcement Agency, to strengthen enforcement against illegal wildlife trade.

We want to identify the poachers hotspots and the outlets they use to illegally bring in and out animals. We are accused of being a hub but if you study carefully, we are not, he said.

Tougher action, Uggah added, would be taken against those who operated zoos without a licence to prevent these from being used as a front for wildlife trade.

Currently, there is no law that allows us to license zoos. Thus, our zoos are operating without licences.

The new (Wildlife Conservation) Act will empower us to license zoos so that it adheres to international zoo standards. If we are not happy with any zoo, we can close it down, he said, adding the Act was expected to be gazetted and enforced by year-end.

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SEREMBAN: Three teenagers have pleaded guilty to two counts of committing mischief by throwing bottles into a surau in Taman Pulai Impian Indah and splashing red paint on its walls.

The three friendsaged between 16 and 17 yearslooked remorseful as they were brought to the Childs Court here yesterday at about 3.10pm and were quickly whisked into the courtroom by policemen.

Reporters were not allowed into the courtroom, which was packed with family members of the three accused.

The teenagers, from Ulu Temiang and Sikamat near here, were charged under Section 427 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, for throwing bottles into the compound of the surau in Taman Pulai Impianhere between between 3am and 4am on Monday.

Two of the accused were also facing a second charge of having splashed red paint on the exterior walls of the recently completed surau while the other was accused of having abetted them.

All three boys face jail time of up to two years or a fine or both.

Another 18-year-old teenager, who was detained together with the three boys hours after the incident on Monday night, has since been released.

Magistrate M. Mageshwary later released the teenagers on RM2,000 bail each and fixed Sept 22 for a mention of the case, pending a report from the Welfare Department.

The three boys were represented by Lee Kong Fei while Mahmud Abdullah prosecuted.

On Monday, residents had a shock when they turned up at the surau and found it had been vandalised.

Negri Sembilan police chief SAC I Datuk Osman Salleh had said the teenagers had probably retaliated after being scolded for playing with fireworks in the suraus vicinity.

On Wednesday, the parents of the teenagers had publicly apologised for the boys actions.

BUKIT MERTAJAM: It was a short-lived joy for a couple who found a baby girl abandoned outside their house in Bukit Minyak near here.

The couple, who has been childless after 10 years of marriage, thought that it was a gift from God.

They kept the baby for 36 hours in their house but later handed her over the police following advice from neighbours.

Central Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Azman Abd Lah said the baby believed to be a week-old was wrapped in a napkin and left on a table outside the house of a 38-year-old factory worker on Sunday.

The factory worker saw the baby after he returned home at 11pm after prayers at a nearby mosque.

The couple wanted to adopt the baby as they have no children.

But their neighbours caution them that it was an offence to keep the baby, he told a press conference here yesterday.

ACP Azman said the couple surrendered the baby to the district police headquarters at Bandar Perda here at about 11am yesterday.

The baby weighing 1.4kg was sent to the Bukit Mertajam Hospital. She is in good health, he said.

He said the police were trying to trace the babys parents.

Members of the public who have any information can contact ASP S. Subramaniam at 019-6351119 or the nearest police station.

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Plantations and Commodities has proposed the establishment of a foundation to specifically look after the welfare, health and education of estate workers and their families.

Its Deputy Minister Datuk G. Palanivel said currently workers were given assistance on an ad hoc basis depending on the policy of individual companies.

The MIC deputy president said a foundation would be able to coordinate these efforts and provide a more comprehensive and systematic assistance not only to existing workers but also former workers and their families.

He told Bernama that the ministry had also suggested various facilities and amenities to be provided for the workers which included clean and quality water, 24-hour uninterrupted supply of electricity, tarred roads, proper living quarters, medical and health care, kindergartens, schools and places of worship.

The ministry had also requested the estate management to preserve old temples as thousands of former estate employees visited these places of worship annually in April to pay homage to the deities.

He said that he had raised all these issues with the representatives of the various plantation companies when he met them on July 28.

Palanivel said he told the representatives to emulate the example of Jenderate Estate where an old folks home was provided for retired workers.

They could also emulate Sime Darby which provided each of the workers with 5kg rice and 5kg oil every two months, he added. — Bernama

KUALA SELANGOR: Another suspected illegal sand mine, located some 29.5km off the main road in Batang Berjuntai, is feared to be harming part of Sungai Selangor running through a nearby village.

Selangor Opposition chief Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo brought the media to the village called Lot Kambing Sususome 1km away from the mining siteyesterday.

He alleged that the mining activity upstream had caused part of Sungai Selangor in the village to be filled with sludge and silt.

The villagers use the river water as a drinking source for their livestocks, which are mainly goats and cows.

The state government must rehabilitate the polluted part of the river as there are water catchments further downstream, he said.

Dr Khir recently alleged that sand was being illegally mined in Dengkilsome 50m from two lakes within the Paya Indah Wetlandsand Rasa in Hulu Selangor.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim countered by saying that the picture of the sand mine published by the media was taken from a legal mining area in Kampung Olak Lempit and not at the Dengkil site as claimed by Dr Khir.

As for the Rasa allegation, Khalid reportedly said he would visit the place soon with Dr Khir to ascertain the status of the mine.

On July 15, Khalid set a 12-month time frame to resolve the sand controversy in Selangor.

Khalid had drawn flak from various quarters including the Deputy Prime Minister and MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek over the illegal sand mining controversy.

Two weeks ago, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the issue was made to appear difficult, although the solution was quite straightforward.

Catch the perpetrators, punish them and expose the cover-ups, he said.

On Sunday, Dr Chua questioned the Selangor Government over its failure to deliver the RM150mil from the sale of sand as promised.

In Kuala Lumpur, former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called on the enforcement authorities to put a stop to the illegal activity.

There are so many lorries parked along the roadside. They (enforcement officers) can just stop these lorries and query where they are getting the sand from.

From there, you will be able to take appropriate action. Its very simple. But nothing seems to be done, he said after his keynote address at an environmental awareness seminar.

In Balik Pulau, the Penang Survey and Mapping Department has been instructed by the state Public Accounts Standing Committee (PAC) to submit a report on Aug 2 about the extent of the alleged sand theft at a construction site.

PAC chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo and his team visited the site for the first time yesterday after they started a probe on the matter.

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