PETALING JAYA: The government has gazetted 90,000ha of land in Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Terengganu, and Negri Sembilan as protected areas for conservation through the Ecological Fiscal Transfer for Biodiversity Conservation (EFT) initiative.
Aimed at preserving the habitat of the Malayan tiger, two working papers were presented at the National Tiger Implementation Working Group (MyTWG) chaired by Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad on Thursday (Aug 22).
"The government supports the decision to set up a National Tiger Conservation Task Force (MyTTF) which will be the main platform to administer effectively the government's effort in implementing and monitoring the conservation of Malayan tigers.
"The meeting also agreed for the development of Malayan Tiger Crisis Action Plan (MTCAP) 2021-2030 to handle the Malayan tiger population crisis and stabilise the population to 400 tigers by 2030," the ministry said in a statement on Friday (Aug 23).
The meeting further discussed Malaysia's involvement in the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) headed by India for the conservation of tigers, lions, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah.
"Since 2021 until July 2024, the Community Rangers and Khazanah Integrated Operation activated by the Wildlife Department has detained 354 Malaysians and 73 foreigners and seized RM150mil, including the arrest of four Cambodians at the Al-Sultan Abdullah tiger conservation on June 4.
“However, in 2023 and 2024, there were five reports of tiger deaths and nine were trapped in conflict zones, indicating that the tiger habitat is being disrupted.
The ministry said the Federal Government will work with the states to strengthen the conservation and preservation of the Malayan tigers to ensure they do not become totally extinct.
