Be accurate with hornbill design, zoologist urges bank

 Jason Teo, a Sarawakian, says key features of the bird depicted on a bank card showed that it is not the rhinoceros hornbill, the state bird of Sarawak.

The rhinoceros hornbill is the state bird of Sarawak. It is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. (Jason Teo pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 A zoologist has urged Affin Bank to rectify the image of a hornbill on the bank’s debit card for Sarawakians, saying that key features showed that it was not the rhinoceros hornbill, the state bird of Sarawak.

Jason Teo, a Sarawakian, said the casque of the hornbill shown matched that of the rhinoceros hornbill but its yellowish-white neck and stripes of white on its wings were features of the great hornbill species.

He said rhinoceros hornbills are native to East and West Malaysia, but not the great hornbills. Affin Bank should make the necessary amendments. “Mistakes happen, and I believe this was an honest one,” he said, the Borneo Post reported.

Teo said the image of the hornbill on the card should not be a mix of several species. “The designated state bird of Sarawak is specifically the rhinoceros hornbill, not just any hornbill,” he said.

The great hornbill is found in mainland Asia while the rhinoceros hornbill is found only in the forests of Peninsular Malaysia and the islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo.

On Thursday, Sarawak DAP secretary Violet Yong had urged the bank, which is partly state-owned, to apologise and replace the cards.

Yesterday, Kuching South mayor Wee Hong Seng defended the bank, saying the graphic was merely a conceptual design that was “quite close” to the rhinoceros hornbill.

The card was introduced by the bank for its Kenyalang savings account for Sarawakians last month. The Sarawak government has a 31.25% stake in the bank. - FMT