He said the government was in the final stages of amending the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716) before presenting it to the Cabinet and subsequently having it tabled in Parliament to curb wildlife trafficking in the country.
He said the amendment would improve the Act, including increasing the fine for wildlife trafficking offences from RM500,000 to RM1 million.
“This proves that we are very serious about preserving the country’s treasures by improving existing laws to control encroachment, illegal logging and wildlife hunting.
“We have identified wildlife poaching (illegal wildlife crimes) often occurs through online sales and exporting that also brings losses to the country,” he said in a press conference after handing out letters of appointment to 201 army veterans and Orang Asli at the Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara here today.
For the record, Act 716 applies to any offender, including poachers, who can be fined a maximum of RM500,000 or jailed not exceeding five years or both.
In August, Wildlife and National Parks Department director-general Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim proposed for the existing act to be amended as part of the government’s firm efforts to curb illegal hunting activities.
Earlier in his speech, Shamsul said a total of 135 offenders, comprising 96 locals and 39 foreigners, were arrested this year for various offences under Act 716.
He added that the value of the wildlife confiscated amounted to RM1.7 million, while 630 traps and 141 immigrants’ tents were also destroyed.
Meanwhile, he said the cooperation of various agencies and authorities last year had also contributed to the arrest of 64 offenders involving 32 cases with a seizure value of RM636,600 and with 433 wire snares destroyed.
On today’s programme, Shamsul, who is Lenggong MP, said so far a total of 538 army veterans and Orang Asli had been appointed through the Biodiversity Protection and Patrolling Programme (BP3) to enable the government to continue to protect the country’s high-value revenue.
He said the team would be the eyes and ears of the government in hotspots such as Taman Negara which were identified as frequent locations for poaching activities by irresponsible parties.
He said BP3 was strengthened with an allocation of RM32 million with the involvement of 600 army veterans, police veterans and Orang Asli involving the enforcement control of 20,000 sq km throughout the National Park, including the Malayan tiger habitat that has been identified.