National biodiversity resources under threat
KUALA LUMPUR: The country is projected to lose biodiversity resources such as sandalwood and wildlife worth RM123.17 million from 2002 up to 2013 as a result of encroachments at the National Park.
This was disclosed by the Deputy Director-General II of Wild Life Protection and National Parks (Perhilitan), Fakhrul Hatta Musa to Bernama recently.
Thus, the government implemented the 1Malaysia Biodiversity Enforcement Operation Network (1MBEON) to reduce losses of the country's biodiversity resources.
"Through 1MBEON which was enforced from 2014, the losses were reduced by 40% from the previous year which was RM15 million to RM6 million," he said in an interview.
The 1MBEON programme which was initiated in 2014, is a National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) implemented together with Perhilitan and the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) to boost enforcement in preventing encroachments and extraction of the country's biodiversity resources especially by foreign nationals.
Fakhrul Hatta said more than 90 individuals who were mostly Cambodian, Vietnamese and Thai nationals had been arrested besides local citizens through 23 operations carried out since 1MBEON was implemented in 2014.
"Most of them had begun to serve their sentences under Act 716, Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 as well as the National Parks Enactment," he said.
Act 716 aims to protect and conserve wildlife as well as matters pertaining to wildlife and is only applicable when the wildlife are found together with the trespassers when arrests are made.
However, if no wildlife were found, they would only be prosecuted under the National Parks Enactment.
Fakhrul Hatta said foreigners who were detained would face imprisonment of between four to 12 months and as most of them could not afford to pay the fines, the penalty imposed under the National Parks Enactment was very low.
"We are now in the process of amending the existing enactment because the penalty imposed is too low. It is also hoped that commensurate fines can be imposed besides caning for illegal immigrants caught," he said. — Bernama