Conduct audit on seized ivory, Zairil urges govt

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government should inform the public over the status of seized ivory worth RM19mil stored in government-held stockpiles, said DAP lawmaker Zairil Khir Johari.

“There is very little information on this valuable stockpile worth at least RM19mil, thus raising concerns about its whereabouts and safekeeping,” he told reporters at Parliament lobby here, Wednesday.

He cited a case in November last year, where confiscated ivory worth over US$1bil was stolen from a government storage facility in Uganda.

The Bukit Bendera MP also echoed the call by a non-governmental group, Friends of the Orangutans, for the government to invite international wildlife trade monitoring organisation Traffic to conduct an independent audit of all seized ivory.

The NGO’s founder and director Upreshpal Singh said the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) should also destroy all confiscated ivory publicly after the audit is completed.

“Destroying confiscated ivory will send a very strong message to poachers and traders: Malaysia will not tolerate the killing of elephants,” he said.

In January 2015, Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad announced that RM19.7mil worth of seized ivory had been handed over to Perhilitan.