STOP THE TORTURE AND KILLING OF ORANGUTANS
- by: Nature Alert
- recipient: Tan Sri Datuk Dr Yusof Basiron
Not content with shooting orangutans, the palm oil industry in general proceeds to shoot themselves in their feet on an almost daily basis. Take the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) as an example.
While proclaiming their members uphold the laws of both Malaysia and Indonesia which give theoretical protection to endangered species, inexplicably the MPOC and Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) refuse to endorse and support a No Kill policy towards endangered species.
Despite the advantages to both their industry and the animals being spelt out to the MPOC/MPOB, they still won’t endorse such a policy. This begs the question, why? Might it have something to do with 300 orangutans having disappeared without trace from Sabah in the last seven years? Or, the rapid Proboscis monkey population decline. Could it have something to do with the Malaysian rhino facing extinction?
For answers we need look no further than Sabah itself. The Director of the Sabah Wildlife Department, The Minister for Environment, no less, and Sabah’s leading orangutan expert are all on record recently as having said the palm oil industry is singularly responsible.
Instead of the palm oil industry spending an eye-watering eight million dollars this year paying consultants to spread lies, this money would be much better spent on implementing a No Kill policy. There is no downside to a No Kill policy, unless you are a lawbreaker.
No one is trying to ban palm oil or have it substituted; for the palm oil industry to say otherwise is mischievous bordering on slander.
Today the RSPO announced how China was demanding more and more green (sustainable) palm oil. India will shortly follow, as will Pakistan, as news spreads of the mass slaughter of endangered species by non-RSPO members.
Non-members, those who won’t endorse a No Kill policy, face as bleak a future as the endangered species they continue to relentlessly kill. The MPOC/MPOB are out of touch with public opinion and consumer wishes, and because of this they are putting themselves in the line of fire and out of business.
MPOC/MPOB public relations are an unmitigated disaster. Members might want to look hard at how their money is being wasted and how badly their organisation is being led.Tan Sri Datuk Dr Yusof Basiron
Chief Executive Officer
Malaysian Palm Oil Council
2nd. Floor, Wisma Sawit,
Lot 6, SS6, Jalan Perbandaran,
47301 Kelana Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan,
MALAYSIA
Dear Dr Yusof Basiron,
I am writing to ask if the MPOC will please implement and enforce a ‘NO KILL’ policy in both Malaysia and Indonesia, thus safeguarding wildlife in general and orangutans in particular?
My understanding is, the MPOC claim never to harm orangutans and other wildlife, so all I am asking is for the
MPOC to make this a formal and public policy. This is a reasonable request isn’t it Dr. Basiron? It also makes good business sense doesn’t it?
The last thing both the palm oil industry and me want is for another case like the one recently in Kalimantan, whereby a Malaysian owned palm oil company is alleged to have ordered the massacre of 20 orangutans as well as other wildlife.
The prominent Malaysian based TSH Resources Berhad palm oil company already have a ‘NO KILL’ voluntarily policy in place, as well as monitoring systems to ensure it is adhered to locally.
As you will know, within Indonesia recently two palm oil companies, both subsidiaries of the Sinar Mas Group, have signed up to a ‘‘NO KILL’ “zero tolerance” policy towards the harassment and/or killing of species protected under Indonesian law.
With 3000-5000 orangutans being killed every year, all illegally, there’s no time to lose is there Dr. Basiron? A statement endorsing a ‘NO KILL’ policy from the MPOC and its members would go a very long way towards saving the orangutan and other protected species from extinction wouldn’t it?
There really is no downside to such a policy from the MPOC, is there?
I very much look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
A Concerned Conservationist
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