MIRI – The once-thriving orangutan population has already vanished from the vast Baram region in northern Sarawak because of decades of intensive logging and palm oil projects.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia’s ground coordinator for Sarawak, Jok Jau Evong, told The Vibes that he and the rest of SAM’s teams have not encountered any more of the primate species in the whole district, which is as big as the state of Pahang on the peninsula.
“The orangutans have already disappeared from Baram, totally,” he said.
“There was a time many decades ago when these orangutans could be found in the lower and middle parts of Baram.
“Nowadays, if anyone wants to find the orangutans in their natural habitats in northern Sarawak, they can only be found in the mountain ranges bordering between Sarawak and Kalimantan.”
“If not for conservation efforts started by environmental bodies concerned about wildlife, the orangutans would have become extinct long ago in Sarawak.”
Jok said the logging of primary jungles and subsequent influx of palm oil projects have impacted the species disastrously.
“These beautiful creatures are gentle and harmless, but the humans who depleted their habitats also depleted their populations,” he said.
Jok also said that it was a shock to hear that a federal minister had claimed orangutans would kill humans if an encounter took place.
“I have never heard any such thing about orangutans attacking or killing humans in Sarawak’s jungles,” he said.
On January 20, a video featuring Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin went viral after she mentioned that books in Arab schools say that Malaysia’s palm oil industry kills orangutans.
Zuraida said that the primates are more likely to kill humans first.
The ministry later said that the video was taken out of context. Zuraida had made the speech during a closed-door event organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council recently.
“Unfortunately, the clip was edited in a way that does not do justice to the context of the minister’s speech,” the ministry said in a statement. “In fact, some have tried to spin the minister’s words, which were merely said in jest, to cast aspersions on her and the ministry.”
Jok has done groundwork in the jungles of Sarawak for more than 40 years, helping the indigenous natives in the conservation of land, and its flora and fauna.
His assertion echoes environmental activist Peter Kallang’s claim that orangutans do not look for humans or attack them.
“There have been absolutely zero cases of orangutans killing humans in Sarawak,” he said. “Humans killing orangutans, yes, but not orangutans killing humans.
“Politicians, especially those holding such important positions like ministers at federal or state levels, should know their facts. Don’t simply say anything in public events, even if it is just a casual remark, as what the minister said is totally incorrect.”
Kallang is chairman of Save Sarawak Rivers, a non-governmental body concerned with the depletion of forests and destruction of water systems due to human development projects in the state.
Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) chief executive officer and state wildlife controller Zolkipli Mohamad Aton had also said SFC has never found any case of orangutans attacking or killing humans.
“Until today, there have been no reports of people being killed by orangutans in Sarawak,” he said.
In Sarawak, orangutans are a totally protected wildlife species, listed under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998, and have been accorded total protection, he said. – The Vibes, January 25, 2022
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