KUANTAN, July 29 — The Regent of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today called on all parties to remain committed in efforts to save the Malayan tiger, which is now on the verge of extinction.
He said apart from the government, youths can also play a role by making full use of information technology to educate the public on the importance of the tiger and its habitat to the forest ecosystem as well as the threats faced by the animal.
According to him, although there are laws to protect wildlife and forest areas, efforts to combat poaching activities were meaningless without proper and stricter enforcement.
“If we can work together to protect the Malayan tiger, not only will this animal population increase but we will actually succeed in saving the forests that have a rich biodiversity, especially in Pahang.
“Pahang has a large forest area, covering about 57 per cent of the state. I have also instructed the state government to increase forest areas every year,” said Tengku Hassanal in a statement in conjunction with World Tiger Day today.
Tengku Hassanal also touched on the Malayan tiger conservation efforts in Pahang, including the establishment of the Pahang Wildlife Committee under the Pahang State Biodiversity Council which leads the concerted efforts to combat poaching activities in the state.
Apart from that, the “Save the Malayan Tiger” campaign has also helped raise the public awareness on the issue regarding the conservation of the species, which is in line with the efforts of the National Tiger Conservation Task Force (MyTTF).
Tengku Hassanal is also optimistic that the conservation efforts being made can increase the population of the Malayan tiger.
He cited as an example the success of countries such as Nepal, India, Bhutan, China, and Russia in increasing their tiger population through conservation efforts that were actively carried out involving the efficient cooperation of all parties. — Bernama
