Sabah CM orders probe on six dead elephants

Sabah CM Shafie said he wants serious conservation plans for the state's wildlife.

KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has directed authorities here to get to the bottom of what caused six endangered Borneo pygmy elephants to die within just over a month.

Shafie said he is directing state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew to immediately get a briefing on the situation and to fast-track necessary preventive and protective measures.

He also instructed the Sabah Wildlife Department to conduct a thorough probe on these deaths and to work closely with the Sabah Forestry Department to protect local wildlife and forests.

Shafie said the two bodies should also work with non-governmental organisations to fast-track forest corridors without fear of business interests of individuals.

He said despite claims of solutions from the previous government, such deaths are still occurring and there had been little will to push through more drastic actions to protect wildlife.

“If real measures had been taken to check on human-elephant conflict as well as other issues including poaching, the deaths of these endangered gentle giants of Sabah, with one as young as a year-old, would not have occurred.

“Perhaps, the previous government did not have the political will to push through more drastic actions that would affect big logging companies and plantations?” the Parti Warisan Sabah president said in a statement on Monday (May 21).

Shafie said he did not care for lip service and wants short and long-term conservation plans drawn up and implemented fast.

“The Warisan government will facilitate such efforts and not bow down to pressure from any groups,” he added.

The carcasses of the six endangered Bornean pygmy elephants in the east coast of Sabah, aged between one to 37, were discovered on separate occasions between April 6 and May 20 this year.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga confirmed the deaths when contacted by The Star on Sunday (May 20).

However, he only revealed details of the elephants found dead most recently, saying that post-mortem results showed they did not die from gunshots.