ID :
48748
Tue, 03/03/2009 - 17:27
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/48748
The shortlink copeid
HIGHER PENALTY FOR OFFENCES AGAINST WILDLIFE
KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Bernama) -- The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 is to be
amended to increase by between 10 and 30 times the penalty for offences as well
as to protect more species of wildlife considered endangered.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said the
ministry would try to table the amendment at the ongoing session of Parliament.
"It is now in the final draft," he said in his opening speech at the Asean
Judiciary Workshop on Wildlife Crime and Prosecution, here. The text of his
speech was read out by the ministry's secretary-general, Zoal Azha Yusof.
Department of Wildlife and National Parks director-general Abdul Rashid
Samsudin said the amendment would see an increase of between 10 and 30 times in
the penalty imposed for offences against wildlife.
He also urged the public to report suspicious activities which could lead to
wildlife crime.
Uggah said the Department of Wildlife and National Parks had done well in
combating smuggling and indiscriminate exploitation of wildlife resources.
"In 2008, forty-five cases of wildlife crime were brought to the courts
where offenders were fined or imprisoned," he added.
He said the extensive border between Malaysia and its neighbours posed a
tremendous challenge to efforts to curb wildlife smuggling, and stressed on the
need to further enhance information-sharing among Asean member countries.
Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Robert
G. Rapson, said that according to a 2008 US Congressional Report, global trade
in illegal wildlife was a growing illicit economy estimated to be worth at least
US$5 billion (US$1 = RM3.70) and potentially in excess of US$20 billion
annually.
"Demand for illegally obtained wildlife is ubiquitous, and some suspect that
illicit demands may be growing. We are pleased to be working cooperatively with
Malaysia to eliminate this pernicious activity," he said.
The two-day workshop, jointly organised by the Asean Wildlife Enforcement
Network (Asean-WEN) and the Federal Courts of Malaysia, is co-sponsored by the
US Agency for International Development and supported by the Federal Courts of
Malaysia.
Asean-WEN is the world's largest wildlife enforcement network, comprising
Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The next judiciary workshop will be held in Cambodia.
-- BERNAMA
amended to increase by between 10 and 30 times the penalty for offences as well
as to protect more species of wildlife considered endangered.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said the
ministry would try to table the amendment at the ongoing session of Parliament.
"It is now in the final draft," he said in his opening speech at the Asean
Judiciary Workshop on Wildlife Crime and Prosecution, here. The text of his
speech was read out by the ministry's secretary-general, Zoal Azha Yusof.
Department of Wildlife and National Parks director-general Abdul Rashid
Samsudin said the amendment would see an increase of between 10 and 30 times in
the penalty imposed for offences against wildlife.
He also urged the public to report suspicious activities which could lead to
wildlife crime.
Uggah said the Department of Wildlife and National Parks had done well in
combating smuggling and indiscriminate exploitation of wildlife resources.
"In 2008, forty-five cases of wildlife crime were brought to the courts
where offenders were fined or imprisoned," he added.
He said the extensive border between Malaysia and its neighbours posed a
tremendous challenge to efforts to curb wildlife smuggling, and stressed on the
need to further enhance information-sharing among Asean member countries.
Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Robert
G. Rapson, said that according to a 2008 US Congressional Report, global trade
in illegal wildlife was a growing illicit economy estimated to be worth at least
US$5 billion (US$1 = RM3.70) and potentially in excess of US$20 billion
annually.
"Demand for illegally obtained wildlife is ubiquitous, and some suspect that
illicit demands may be growing. We are pleased to be working cooperatively with
Malaysia to eliminate this pernicious activity," he said.
The two-day workshop, jointly organised by the Asean Wildlife Enforcement
Network (Asean-WEN) and the Federal Courts of Malaysia, is co-sponsored by the
US Agency for International Development and supported by the Federal Courts of
Malaysia.
Asean-WEN is the world's largest wildlife enforcement network, comprising
Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The next judiciary workshop will be held in Cambodia.
-- BERNAMA
