Actress to walk 240km to file suit on protecting Malayan tigers

 

Sharifah Sofia Syed Hussein after a recent hike up Gunung Panti Barat in Johor. (Sharifah Sofia Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: An actress will be walking some 240km from the national park in Pahang to the Kuala Lumpur High Court to file a suit for the protection of the Malayan tiger.

Sharifah Sofia Syed Hussein will be starting off her journey tomorrow from the Sungai Relau entrance of the national park at Merapoh, Pahang, and is expected to arrive at the Kuala Lumpur courts complex a week later on May 13.

Sharifah Sofia, who starred in films like “Pisau Cukur”, is seeking a declaration from the High Court that the Malayan tiger will go extinct within the next 10 years because of deforestation.

The energy and natural resources ministry will be named as the respondent.

A poster of Sharifah Sofia’s walk which starts on May 6.

She told FMT she had wanted to do this since the Dewan Rakyat was told in November that the Malayan tiger would go extinct within the next decade if “no extraordinary action” was taken.

“I was working in outdoor education previously and just four years ago, I was explaining that we had about 500 tigers left in the wild. To now know that fewer than 150 are left in the wild brings me great anxiety and I’m sure it’s the same for many Malaysians, too.

“I hope the walk will spread more awareness so that the matter will be taken seriously. Action seems to only be taken when things have become viral (on social media) or when it is the talk of the town.

“I hope that this becomes exactly that – that there will be no other choice but for serious and sustainable action to be taken,” she said.

Sharifah Sofia (left) at a recent beach clean-up at Morib, Sepang. (Sharifah Sofia Facebook pic)

While it will be just her and her “safety team” starting off the walk, anyone can join her at any point in her journey. Sharifah Sofia aims to walk between 30km and 40km a day.

“There are supposed to be a handful of us but due to personal reasons, they are unable to join me from the start. Instead, they will be joining me from time to time throughout my journey.

“Having the support from fellow Malaysians will be fulfilling, and I will probably enjoy having someone to talk to along the way,” she said.

The Malayan tiger, which is Malaysia’s national symbol, is one of nine subspecies of the tiger, of which four have gone extinct.

Previously, FMT reported that Malaysia had lost 90% of its tiger population in the past 70 years, with fewer than 150 of them remaining. - FMT