With borders closed, conservationist asks where did the turtle eggs come from

KOTA KINABALU – The recent viral photo of a state minister with turtle eggs, if proven to be true, sparks a more important question: where did the eggs come from?

Conservationist and Friends of Sea Turtles Education & Research president Alexander Yee said turtle eggs illegally sold in Sabah are believed to be from neighbouring countries, such as the Philippines.

“With the movement control order now, how did the turtle eggs manage to get through our borders with total lockdown?”

The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) has been instructed by the state Tourism, Culture, and Environment Ministry to investigate a photo showing Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin at a dining table with a plate of white, round-shaped eggs, similar to turtle eggs.

Yee said he cannot comment further on the matter until SWD completes its investigation.

This case is similar to what happened in February this year, involving a former Sabah assemblyman.

SWD had also launched an investigation into the case, and state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin was quoted as saying that no stone will be left unturned in the probe.

However, the department has never revealed the result of the investigation.

In November 2015, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob – who was then rural and regional development minister – also found himself in hot water when a photo of him dining at a seafood restaurant, with turtle eggs on the table, in Sandakan was carried in a local newspaper. The news went viral on social media.

Ismail Sabri later sued the publisher and editor of the Daily Express, which carried the report. The case was resolved amicably at the high court.

In Sabah, turtle eggs are products of a green turtle species (Chelonia mydas), which is fully protected under Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.

Possession of turtle eggs in the state is an offence under the enactment, punishable with a maximum RM50,000 fine or two years imprisonment, or both, upon conviction.

Last night, Bung Moktar, who is also Kinabatangan MP, said the viral photo of him at a table with what seems to be a dish of turtle eggs is edited as part of a political ploy.

Warisan vice-president Datuk Junz Wong was one of the first individuals to share the controversial photo.

Rozamshah Ismail, a Lamag community development officer who is seen next to Bung Moktar in the picture, has since said the image is edited. – The Vibes, June 26, 2021