KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) today defended its late December raids on a gibbon rehabilitation centre in Pahang, and asserted that all six gibbons that it had seized and removed from the centre were not injured nor dead.
In its first written public statement a week after its raids that were met with public criticism, Perhilitan argued that its action in removing the six gibbons under the care of its former ranger Mariani Ramli was in line with a decision by the Court of Appeal.
Mariani, who is the president of non-profit organisation Gibbon Conservation Society which operates the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GReP), had via the Pahang-based centre reportedly carried out ongoing rehabilitation work for years on the gibbons to prepare them for eventual release back to the wild.
In the statement, Perhilitan then described the raids which it said was carried out by 18 staff from the department’s enforcement division, the National Wildlife Rescue Centre (NWRC) in Sungkai, Perak, and the Perhilitan Pahang chapter on December 29 to December 31, 2020 in its bid to “take back” six gibbons and one dusky leaf monkey from a location in Raub, Pahang, adding that four police officers from Raub had joined the operation which Perhilitan said was monitored by its own veterinary officer to ensure the health and welfare of the wildlife.
Perhilitan went on to say that it had successfully captured six gibbons and moved them from the Pahang location to the NWRC in Perak to be quarantined for 30 days, but said the dusky leaf monkey could not be taken as it was not at the Pahang location.
“Perhilitan denies allegations that any gibbons escaped, were injured or died during the translocation process as all gibbons are now in a good and safe condition in NWRC,” the department said in the statement written in Bahasa Melayu which was posted on its official Facebook page.
“Perhilitan calls upon the public not to speculate about the operation that was conducted as it was in line with the laws that are in force to protect the welfare of wildlife in this country,” Perhilitan concluded.
Earlier, in the same statement, Perhilitan sought to respond to allegations that the government department had failed to respect the legal process with its December 2020 raids, noting that such claims had caused confusion among the public and cast the department in a negative light.
In seeking to justify its actions, Perhilitan said the Court of Appeal had on November 16, 2020 overturned an earlier decision by the High Court on July 10, 2019.
According to Perhilitan, the Court of Appeal had decided that Mariani did not have the right to keep the six gibbons and one dusky leaf monkey due to a lack of a special permit.
Perhilitan said that Mariani’s application to set up a conservation and rehabilitation centre was not approved as there were no provisions under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 for such matters.
In its statement, Perhilitan did not touch on or respond to Mariani’s lawyer Jessica Binwani’s previous remarks, where the lawyer had stressed that the legal dispute had yet to be resolved and that the status quo should be maintained for the gibbons while pending a final decision from the courts.
Mariani was previously reported to be still pursuing an appeal at the Federal Court against the Court, with her lawyer saying that this meant that the gibbons were seized despite the ongoing court dispute.
In an additional statement on Facebook on the raids on Mariani’s Pahang-based gibbon rehabilitation centre, Perhilitan today said it had used persuasion methods with the use of baits to move the gibbons from the main cage to the cage used to transport them, with the cage sent across river using zipline before being placed in a lorry.
In this statement, Perhilitan again stressed that no gibbons died or were injured during the process, and claimed that no gibbons escaped during the raid, while also asserting that it did not use tranquilisers during the raids.
Asserting that the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 provisions did not require Perhilitan to have a warrant to “take back” the gibbons, Perhilitan also claimed that some of the gibbons had allegedly displayed stereotypic behaviour or abnormal behaviour prior to the raids.
Perhilitan also said it had found the seized gibbons to be allegedly tame and to be not afraid of humans, saying that the rewilding process has to be carried out before their release, and that they are currently under a 30-day quarantine for rehabilitation under the supervision of the department’s vet.
In comments left on the Facebook postings by Perhilitan today, the public have however continued to voice concern over the welfare of the six gibbons after the disruption of their rehabilitation at the Pahang centre and doubts over the government department’s capabilities and track record in wildlife care, with some also proposing that the department work together with Mariani for the gibbons’ rehabilitation.
Some of the Facebook comments also asked for evidence in the form of photos or videos of the current condition of the six seized gibbons — Daru, Daly, Bella, Betsy, Lola and Chantiq.
Subsequently, Perhilitan then in yet another Facebook post then shared a 1.36-minute-long video clip which it said shows the current condition of the six gibbons at the NWRC in Perak, while also claiming that no permission is given to individuals or non-governmental organisations in Malaysia to establish wildlife rehabilitation centres.
Perhilitan also said it has expertise to care and treat for gibbons if any fell ill or are injured, while also sharing two links to two other brief video clips in June and August 2020 when asserting that it has sufficient facilities to rehabilitate gibbons.
Earlier today, Mariani in a press statement spoke about the outcome of a one-hour meeting she had with the Perhilitan director-general on January 4 regarding the six gibbons, stating that Perhilitan had denied Chantiq having injuries during the confiscation process on December 31 and claimed that the red stains at her enclosure was blood due to leeches.
Mariani said she had responded by pointing out that a Perhilitan staff had on the day of the raid told a GReP staff that the red stains resembling bloodstains in Chantiq’s enclosure were dragon fruit stains and blood from a leech, adding that she had also highlighted to Perhilitan however that a Facebook post of a person allegedly also a Perhilitan staff member had confirmed that the stains were a gibbon’s blood with the person claiming that the injury was due to the cage’s conditions instead of Perhilitan personnel’s handling.
Among other things, Mariani said she had asked during the meeting for permission to visit the six gibbons at the NWRC to see their condition, but said Perhilitan said it would not allow anyone permission to visit but may share pictures and that Perhilitan had asked GCS to wait until the Court of Appeal decides on Mariani’s stay application.
In pursuing her appeal at the Federal Court, Mariani had previously been reported to be in the process of filing an application for the Court of Appeal to stay its decision or suspend the effect of its decision until the Federal Court decides on her appeal.
In her press statement, Mariani said she had in the January 4 meeting highlighted that her applications for a special permit had been consistently rejected by Perhilitan over the years on the grounds that the 2010 law did not have any provisions for rehabilitation, with Perhilitan yet to respond to her latest November 2020 application under Sections 11(a), (d), (e) for a special permit for the placement of gibbons at a gibbon conservation centre in Lenggong, Perak.
Noting that GReP is currently caring for and rehabilitating nine other gibbons using a permit received by Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina under Section 11(a) of the same law, Mariani went on to ask Perhilitan and the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry overseeing Perhilitan on how they determine and what are the necessary qualifications for a wildlife conservationist and primatologist like herself to obtain such a permit under Sections 11(a), (d), (e) of the 2010 law.
She also suggested that the ministry and Perhilitan relook the policy for wildlife management in Peninsular Malaysia and to consider whether there could be an adoption of policies in other countries where non-governmental organisations are able to “operate rescue and rehabilitation centres in order to assist the government in rehabilitating our wildlife and sending them back to the forest with proof of success.”
