KUALA TERENGGANU: Netizens want the government to consider the death sentence for poachers caught with evidence of their activities.
This is to protect the nation’s wildlife and natural resources from being continued to be plundered.
They were reacting to a statement in Facebook by Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources Dr Xavier Jayakumar today on the success of an integrated operation in the Tembat Forest Reserve in Hulu Terengganu with the capture of six poachers and seizure of hunting tools on Oct 19.
The operation code named Operasi Bersepadu Khazanah, saw the participation of the National Parks and Wildlife Department, General Operations Forces North Brigade and representatives from non-governmental organisations.
The Forestry Department, however, was not mentioned in the statement, which invited negative responses from netizens who questioned the role of the department in helping to curb poaching because the country’s forest protection came under its jurisdiction.
Reacting to the minister’s statement, netizen Abdul Hamid Khalid said poachers should be shot dead in the jungle and their bodies left to become food for tigers because (the government) would have to feed them if they were jailed.
Vignes Samutharam proposed a mandatory death sentence for poachers similar to laws introduced in Kenya which had enforced such a penalty a long time ago.
“Poachers should be given the death penalty! No questions asked!” said netizen Emma Kamal.
Another netizen, Yew Yi Low, said from the photographs, it was obvious that the men were agarwood hunters and not animal poachers, but hunted animals for food while in the jungle.
“It is still an offence. Let them be caught,” said Yew.
Mohd Ilham Norhakim Lokman believes that these men were hired to hunt and buyers were waiting to buy what they caught or harvested in the jungle.
“The government should grill them for information to find out who hired them and charge all of them in court,” said Ilham whose comment was supported by Afiz Fahmi A. Tarmizi who wanted deterrent sentences meted out on the poachers as a warning to others.
In the statement, Dr Xavier said the arrest of the six men from Cambodia were the sixth successful operation under Operasi Bersepadu Khazanah.
On Sept 10, two poachers from Thailand were caught in the Royal Belum State Park in Perak and on Oct 10 a local man was detained in Felcra Sungai Limau, Kuala Lipis, Pahang.
This was followed by an operation on Oct 11 with the arrest of a Thai national in Gerik, Perak.
That same day, the authorities achieved huge success with the arrest of 26 poachers, including from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and China at Felcra Sungai Temau in Kuala Lipis, Pahang, and on Oct 16 a Cambodian was caught in Endau Rompin National Park, Johor.