KUALA LUMPUR – The Kelantan Forestry Department director must be dreaming of his cat at home, snarked Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng following Abdul Khalim Abu Samah’s comments that “logging activities could be good for the tiger population”.
Lim said in a statement that Khalim’s “hypothesis” has faced an onslaught of criticism from the public and Malaysia will become a laughingstock to the world again unless his claim is refuted by the government or ministry involved.
“Khalim has only two options now – he either produces the expert research that claims deforestation is good for tiger habitats, or he retracts the claim and apologises.”
Lim then quoted The National Geographic, which reported that “80% of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, and deforestation threatens species including the Sumatran tiger (and other animals)”.
He also shared information put out by the World Wildlife Fund, saying that “tigers are found in diverse habitats: rain forests, grasslands, savannas, and mangrove swamps.
“Unfortunately, 93% of historical tiger lands have disappeared primarily because of expanding human activity. Saving tigers means saving forests that are vital to the health of the planet,” Lim quoted.
Khalim was heavily criticised after saying that logging activities in Kelantan do not affect its tiger population, and could in fact be good based on “a study done by an expert from Sarawak”.
He was reported by Sinar Harian as saying that when logging takes place, new flora would emerge, attracting animals such as mouse deer to the area, which would serve as an easier food source for tigers.
He said this in response after criticism that logging activities have greatly affected the tiger population in his state. – The Vibes, January 25, 2022
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