Endangered species: A Malayan tiger is seen at Zoo Negara in this file photo.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is no home sweet home for the mighty Malayan tiger, which is losing in the fight against poachers.
World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) described it as a “national crisis” as there are fewer than 150 of these tigers left in the entire Peninsular Malaysia.
“This is an alarming figure. The species is on the verge of extinction,” said its conservation director Dr Henry Chan.
“If nothing drastic is done, we will lose all our wild tigers,” he said in an interview.
Chan said the number of Malayan tigers left now was based on comprehensive research and monitoring efforts which led to the first National Tiger Survey, conducted in collaboration with the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
He cited poaching and the illegal wildlife trade as the most significant threats faced by the species.
Poaching hotspots are primarily concentrated in key forested areas in Perak, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu.
“These regions provide vast, biodiverse habitats but are also heavily targeted by poachers due to the presence of valuable wildlife species, including the Malayan tiger.
“Taman Negara, one of the largest protected areas, has been a significant focus of anti-poaching operations.
“Ops Bersepadu Khazanah has been instrumental in identifying and tracking poachers since 2019,” he added.
Chan said that several seizures of animal parts, including the tiger and other protected species, had been reported in areas near Taman Negara, underscoring its vulnerability.
“Royal Belum State Park and surrounding forest reserves in Perak have also seen consistent poaching activity,” he said.
Chan added that initiatives by WWF-Malaysia’s Project Stampede and Rimau’s Menraq (Orang Asli community patrols) had been mobilised to dismantle snares and alert authorities as part of the initiative to protect tiger habitats.
(Rimau is a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting the Malayan tiger through anti-poaching activities and stakeholder engagement.)
“Despite these conservation efforts, poaching remains a serious issue in these regions due to their rich biodiversity and the high demand for wildlife in illegal trade,” he added.
While the authorities have been playing an important role in efforts to conserve the Malayan tiger, Chan said more needs to be done, especially by policymakers and decision-makers.
They should focus, he added, on three key areas: strengthening legal frameworks, integrating conservation efforts into development planning and expanding funding mechanisms.
“Malaysia needs to rigorously enforce and update wildlife protection laws to address emerging threats. This includes increasing penalties for wildlife crimes.
“Secondly, the authorities can incorporate wildlife conservation considerations into land-use planning and infrastructure development, including wildlife-friendly road designs. This would ensure that conservation needs are considered by plantation companies,” he said.
Lastly, there was a need to increase and diversify funding sources for conservation efforts.
“Financing models such as biodiversity bonds ensure sustainable long-term funding,” said Chan.
Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia president and chief executive officer Andrew Sebastian said laws should be in place to ensure illegal trading of wildlife online can be prevented.
Malaysia, he said, is still labelled an active transit point for smuggling exotic animals.
“While Malaysia has progressed further since the amendment to the Wildlife Conservation Act, there is a lot of room for illegal activities to continue online, such as smuggling and trade of wildlife,” he said.
Andrew added that wildlife products are of high value in the black market, which posed a challenge to the authorities.
“The demand and supply still exist. We need to cut down the demand through awareness and education programmes or perhaps provide incentives to whistleblowers, which could lead to the arrest of people involved,” he said.
Former Malaysian Nature Society president Vincent Chow proposed that wildlife officers publish a book to share their experience and knowledge before retiring.
“The Wildlife Department is not an easy department to manage. The officers are very dedicated in their work. But when they retire, they are forgotten and their experience goes with them,” he said.
As such, Chow said their insights should be recorded “so we can learn more about our wildlife situation.”
