Highways open doors to poaching

PETALING JAYA: The building of highways that cut across important habitats of protected animals and plants has opened doors to poa­chers stealing the country’s priceless treasures, said a researcher.

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu’s Kenyir Research Institute Assoc Prof Dr Reuben Clements said that when he did his research on orang asli in Perak, for example, there was evidence of high poaching pressure in forests beside the 203km-long East-West Highway bisecting the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex.