Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew, who holds the tourism, culture and environment portfolio, said under the policy, plantation owners could be fined or jailed if convicted.

“I had a meeting with the Wildlife Department recently and I have demanded that they give me the best solution to the problem within three months.

“They invited animal experts for a meeting last week and will come up with their suggestions soon.

“This is crucial for me and the ministry because I cannot afford to have animals dying on my watch,” she said.

At least eight elephants were reported dead in Sabah due to various reasons between April and July this year.

The deaths were reported in the state’s east coast, mainly in plantation areas and the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park.

Liew said investigations revealed that while some of the elephants died accidentally, there was also evidence that others were intentionally harmed.

The problem, she said, was the human-elephant conflict, especially in remote rural areas where a herd of elephants could destroy hundreds of acres of oil palm trees in a single night.

“Owners often report incidents of elephant attacks on rangers in the hope that the authorities would be able to chase the elephants away.

“However, it takes the rangers a long time to reach certain areas, sometimes days. So, owners get frustrated and take matters into their own hands and just kill the elephants.”

She said some companies built fences around their plantations but this was not enough to stop the elephants from coming in.

She added that the ministry might consider the strict liability policy if all else failed.