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 Call to set up Tiger Task Force to save the endangered Malayan Tiger

The Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (Mycat) has called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to take the lead in saving the endangered Malayan tiger.

It was revealed in 2014 that there may only be 250 to 340 wild Malayan tigers left, down from the previous estimate of 500.Mycat warned that Malaysia would lose the Malayan tigers in most of its forests in the next decade if the country as a whole did not up its game very quickly.

A key action, suggested Mycat, was to set up a Tiger Task Force that can mobilise resources to implement the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan, with the main priorities being to protect tigers from poaching and trade, while safeguarding tiger habitats from indiscriminate deforestation.

There also needs to be more quality scientific research to inform decision-making; better management of protected areas and increasedinvolvement of business, local communities and citizen conservationists.“It is undeniable, however, that if not for a series of conscious conservation efforts by many quarters, the Malayan tiger might already be extinct in the wild,” said Mycat in press statement issued today.

It also highlighted the efforts by wildlife rangers who worked on the ground, risking their lives to protect Malaysia’s biodiversity, as mentioned by Mycat general manager Dr Kae Kawanishi in the foreword to Mycat Tracks: The Malayan Tiger’s Struggle for Existence.Mycat Tracks is a report published by Mycat, comprising voices of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and government staff involved intiger conservation, as well as the Batek Orang Asli.

“Across gender, racial, religious, cultural and national differences, the tiger brought us together.“More than being great wildlife rangers, they are great human beings.“Their spirit lives in me, so the fight must go on,” said Kawanishi.

Mycat also credited the public for its support in helping to keep the tigers alive throughout a decade when other wild populations were lost.Mycat has 1,082 volunteers who helped spread conservation messages and protected tiger habitats, but it needs more help and has asked thesilent majority to stand up and be counted by giving their votes.

 

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