First one jet engine went missing followed by another. Then NST reported that the parts of the jet-fighter were also missing. Now, we have consignments of live animals and body parts worth millions of ringgit that slipped through Malaysia undetected as reported in The Star.
Interpol estimates that illegal wildlife trade worldwide is worth US$10bil (RM35bil) to US$20bil (RM70bil) a year. It is third behind only the illegal drug and arms trades. In fact, it is the second biggest threat to species survival after habitat destruction.
Many people intentionally participate in the illegal wildlife trade for material gain. Some illegal items, such as ivory trinkets and turtle shells, can easily be purchased in stores or on the Internet by unsuspecting customers. Worse still, wildlife and wildlife products may be legally sold at tourist destinations, but bringing these items home with you may be illegal or require special Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permits.
Many Malaysians DO NOT KNOW that some Malaysians are making waves in the shadowy world of illegal wildlife trade. The shocking thing is that foreigners know more than us about this. By next week, all and sundry will know about it when the January 2010 issue of National Geographic hits the stands on December 29th, 2009!
That issue will have The Kingpin - An exposé of the world's most notorious wildlife dealer, his special government friend, and his ambitious new plan written by Brian Christy. An advanced web edition was released on December 15th 2009 at National Geographic official web site. It is a very long story that took THREE YEARS of research. Believe me - the intricate details of illegal wildlife trade and its ties with ONE MALAYSIAN man and his cronies will blow your brains to smithereens. It is an awfully long article but one that YOU HAVE TO READ!!! I cannot post on it because of copyright and embargo reasons.
Brian Christy is a very highly qualified conservationist with degrees who has written many books that have received rave reviews. Known as the Lizard King, Brian Christy is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Cornell's FALCON Japanese Program, the University of Michigan Law School, and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Tokyo University Law School. He passed the CPA and bar exams and worked as a lawyer in Washington, DC, including in the Executive Office of the President. As a lawyer he advised on such topics as relations with Libya, U.S.-Japan supercomputer trade, and the sale of light-water nuclear reactors to North Korea.
His official website has archived many newspaper articles on the whole issue. Please check the following articles for a better understanding of the intricate details of the illegal wildlife trade in Malaysia. While doing research for this post, I discovered that Starprobe conducted a lot of investigations on this issue, in particular by award-winning journalist Hilary Chiew. Brian Christy has painstakingly compiled these in chronological order.
Link 1 on Penang that contains four articles from MSM
Link 2 on Penang that contains another six articles from MSM.
This post required lots of reading I and have compiled a brief chronological account of recent developments.
Hilary Chiew of The Star reported on August 10th 2009 a very detailed write up on Illegal animal trading puts Malaysia on the world map for all the wrong reasons which you also HAVE to read. Sorry. The details will blow your mind!
On the same day, The Star also carried a story on Malaysia is a hub for a multi-billion-ringgit global trade in illegal wildlife. It named the guy and featured his photograph in the report.
On August 11th, Yeng Ai Chun of The Star reported:
On August 13th, The Star featured an article on Ministry to review Wong’s special permits.
On August 15th 2009 a group of Malaysian wildlife organizations and two parliament MPs filed a complaint with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) calling for investigation into"irregularities” in the enforcement of wildlife trade in Malaysia."
The same day, Hilary Chiew wrote an article on Deputy D-G: Someone had to take care of Wong’s animals. Hilary reported:
Brian Christy said in his blog:
Outraged? Wait. Let me show you another report:
Joseph Kaos Jr of The Malay Mail reported on June 11th 2009:
If all this has NOT shocked you yet, let me leave you with this link to an article called Endangered creatures for sale - Illegal animal trade reaps billions yearly written by CHARLES SEABROOK of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution where the following was reported:
Our resources are dwindling, some going up in smoke while others vanishing into thin air. Now, even our natural resource of wildlife - Nature's gift to us is being taken from right under our noses.
People, what are we going to do?
This post required lots of reading I and have compiled a brief chronological account of recent developments.
Hilary Chiew of The Star reported on August 10th 2009 a very detailed write up on Illegal animal trading puts Malaysia on the world map for all the wrong reasons which you also HAVE to read. Sorry. The details will blow your mind!
On the same day, The Star also carried a story on Malaysia is a hub for a multi-billion-ringgit global trade in illegal wildlife. It named the guy and featured his photograph in the report.
On August 11th, Yeng Ai Chun of The Star reported:
The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) is keeping mum over allegations that Malaysia is a major wildlife trafficking centre.On August 12th, Hilary Chiew wrote on Tell us about the tigers, says exco man.
Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Rasid Samsudin had replied: “it is an old story” when asked to comment on the Starprobe story yesterday alleging that illegal trading in wildlife had put Malaysia on the world map for the wrong reasons.
When pointed out that the problem was still going on and the number of cases were getting higher, Abdul Rasid said: “I cannot comment on that.”
On August 13th, The Star featured an article on Ministry to review Wong’s special permits.
On August 15th 2009 a group of Malaysian wildlife organizations and two parliament MPs filed a complaint with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) calling for investigation into"irregularities” in the enforcement of wildlife trade in Malaysia."
The same day, Hilary Chiew wrote an article on Deputy D-G: Someone had to take care of Wong’s animals. Hilary reported:
Lawyer and ROAR president R. Surendran said Wong’s special permits covered among others two cougars which were later declared to have died.
“Did Misliah check whether those animals were dead? Or could they have been smuggled out?” he asked.
Misliah, when asked whether she had seen the carcasses, said she had relied on her staff to “check and report back to her.”
On Wong’s tigers, she said he had a special permit to keep two female tigers that he acquired from Japan and the cats had mated with tigers owned by Sunway Lagoon theme park in Selangor.
Brian Christy said in his blog:
It is interesting that Anson Wong should admit in US Court (and more recently to The Star) that he committed the years of massive scale illegal trafficking of which he was accused and yet the official in charge of Perhilitan Penang during this same period should deny any responsibility and subsequently be promoted to Perhilitan’s national office.On 21st August, Joshua Fong in reported in The Star:
A group of non-governmental organisations has lodged a police report against convicted wildlife smuggler Anson Wong, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) and the Customs Department.
Speaking to reporters after lodging the report at the Brickfields Police Station, Malaysian Animal Rights Society president R. Surendran said:
“The reason we are lodging the police report is because, over the years Perhilitan has failed to take any action against Wong for smuggling and has even given him special permits to catch and keep animals.
“We know that one of the modus operandi of wildlife traffickers is to get permits to keep animals and later declare them dead, when in actual fact they have been smuggled out of the country,” he said.
Outraged? Wait. Let me show you another report:
Joseph Kaos Jr of The Malay Mail reported on June 11th 2009:
WILDLIFE poachers and traffickers may not have it easy soon - if the relentless campaign by the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) and local environmental groups to amend the Wildlife Act 1972 is successful.
The act has received a lot of criticism especially from animal conservation groups for its rather mild punishment and penalties to deter wildlife offenders.
Yesterday, an Indonesian man was fined a mere RM2,000 by the Magistrate court for attempting to smuggle 10 murai batu birds (Common Shama) out of the country last Saturday. The bird can fetch at least RM3,000 in the open market.
If all this has NOT shocked you yet, let me leave you with this link to an article called Endangered creatures for sale - Illegal animal trade reaps billions yearly written by CHARLES SEABROOK of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution where the following was reported:
One of the world's most notorious wildlife smugglers, Keng Liang "Anson" Wong, 44 -- released last month from a federal prison in California after serving six years -- used this method. From his private zoo in Malaysia, he shipped thousands of rare and endangered creatures, mostly reptiles, to collectors in the United States, Japan and Europe.I do not know about you but I am thoroughly ashamed that our country has reached the pits when it comes to legislation and enforcement not just in ONE area but so many areas.
To fool airport customs and wildlife inspectors, he bound the rare animals with tape so they couldn't move and stuffed them in burlap bags stapled to the bottom of shipping crates. Many died from the harsh shipping conditions, but Wong stood to profit as long as some survived.
In Miami, Stinebaugh's boss, Vicky Vina, says that on a good day, inspectors there are able to peek inside about three in every 10 shipments.
"We get awfully busy," she says. "We often get 60 to 70 wildlife shipments through here in one day."
Scores of animals -- mostly reptiles -- were smuggled through Miami by Chye, Wong and others.
Our resources are dwindling, some going up in smoke while others vanishing into thin air. Now, even our natural resource of wildlife - Nature's gift to us is being taken from right under our noses.
People, what are we going to do?
k a l a m b o n g Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !!