Compiled by C.ARUNO, BENJAMIN LEE and R. ARAVINTHAN
WILD elephants have terrorised residents of Kampung Tepus in Hulu Dungun, Terengganu, for over a year, destroying their crops and causing losses amounting to RM100,000, Kosmo! reported.
According to the village’s Development and Security Committee chairman Mat Zaid Abdulah, at least six plantations have been damaged. The situation has not only caused financial grief but affected the livelihood of villagers who rely on agriculture.
“The wild elephants have been moving in and out of the nearby forest into our village to invade plantations for about a year. Overall, more than 7ha of banana plantations, 4ha of oil palm plantations and 1ha of coconut plantations have been destroyed,” he said.
Mat Zaid added that residents had tried using firecrackers to scare the elephants away, but to no avail.
“We appeal to the relevant authorities to take drastic action to help resolve this issue before anything happens,” he said.
Terengganu Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director Dennis Ten said immediate action would be taken to address the problem.
> Donning a raincoat, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim braved the downpour to catch songstress Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza live at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, where she serenaded a crowd of 63,000 fans on Saturday night.
Anwar was seen sitting next to Siti’s husband, Datuk Seri Khalid Mohamad Jiwa, with both wearing raincoats.
Kosmo! reported that Siti even personally thanked Anwar for attending the Gema Bumantara Traditional Concert, which celebrated traditional music and Nusantara heritage.
“Thank you for taking the time to come and watch my biggest traditional music concert,” she said to Anwar.
Siti told the crowd at her first solo show dedicated entirely to traditional music and Nusantara heritage she was touched that fans remained in their seats despite the rain.
(The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.)
