Pahang regent Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah appears to be driving several initiatives to protect the flora and fauna in the state before returning the reins to his father, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah in January next year.
On July 29, Sultan Abdullah and Tengku Hassanal announced that the state government would establish the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve near Taman Negara, with the aim of increasing the population of the endangered Malayan tiger.
This reserve covers 134,183ha, equivalent to a quarter of the total area of the national park.
Last Friday, Tengku Hassanal, the main force behind the initiative, also launched the "Eye on the Tiger" photography exhibition at The Starhill shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur.
In his speech, the regent recalled his pledge to protect the Malayan tiger and urged the state government to implement immediate conservation actions to safeguard the species.
“I’m proud to stand before you now to say that although it has been exceedingly challenging, we have boldly taken the actions necessary to fulfil this pledge.
“In August, we gazetted the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve. This is placed under active protection, an area of forest 1,312sq km in size,” he said.
Tengku Hassanal said much of the work was made possible through the contribution of the Rainforest Trust - which funded a portion of the establishment costs for the first three years.
The “Eye on the Tiger” exhibition which ends on Oct 22 was organised by conservation trust The Habitat Foundation, investment holding company Enggang Holdings and NGO Save Wild Tiger.
It featured 60 photographs of wild tigers from around the world including pictures from Malaysians SC Shekar and Sanjitpal Singh.
The proceeds from the sale of the photographs will be donated for conservation purposes.
Sultan vows to support, continue efforts
According to Pahang gazette documents, on Aug 6, the state government gazetted 92,649.33ha of forest land in Gunung Aais as a tiger reserve under the Pahang State Parks Corporation Enactment.
The Habitat Foundation executive director Justine Vaz told Malaysiakini that the remaining 41,534ha of the tiger reserve are located in the Tekai Tembeling forest reserve and are expected to be gazetted only after the existing logging leases expire in 2028.
Tengku Hassanal, who assumed the role of regent in January 2019 after his father became the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, has been vocal about the need to protect the environment.
Last month, the 28-year-old urged enforcement agencies to be stern on matters related to the environment in the state and pointed out that none, including royals or politicians, are above the law.
Pahang may also witness the establishment of other state parks before he steps down.
At a forum last Saturday, newly appointed Pahang State Park Corporation chief executive officer Abu Zahrim Ismail announced that over 83,000ha of forest in Fraser’s Hills will be gazetted as a state park next month.
At the same event, Vaz revealed that the entire landscape which was studied for tiger reserve covered a total of 400,000ha of forest lands.
Tengku Hassanal has openly supported Greenpeace's climate justice movement. He also issued an order for the Pahang government to halt mining activities in Tasik Chini and urged the state administration to step up efforts to identify other sources of revenue besides mining and logging.
Meanwhile, Sultan Abdullah, when speaking at the launch of the tiger reserve, vowed to support and continue conservation efforts.
"I thank my son. After he first came back from England, he told me that he wanted to protect the animals and the environment. I said, ‘walk the talk and prove what needs to be done, get it going, only then I can support you’.
“He has proven. I have to say you have made a lot of effort to learn and share your time with some of the experts,” he added.
Sultan Abdullah pointed out that during his tenure as crown prince, there had not been a large forest reserve area named after a sultan or crown prince, indicating a positive shift towards environmental protection.
"In the past, they often named waterfalls after me,” he quipped.
“That was the only thing I could think of in the forest. But the tiger reserve in Gunung Aais is large, covering 134,100ha and in Krau there is the Tengku Hassanal Wildlife Reserve," he added.
‘Malaysia in international spotlight’
Lam Wai Yee, Malaysia’s country manager of Panthera, which is devoted to the conservation of the world’s 40 species of wild cats, expressed optimism and excitement over the effectiveness of the tiger conservation efforts.
She described it as the most efficient tiger conservation effort she has witnessed.
“It's trailblazing… my team is very excited because it's not just in Malaysia, but across Southeast Asia and the whole of Asia. Malaysia is in the spotlight for tiger conservation.
“And this tiger reserve is so special, it's the first time that we are presenting an area specifically for the preservation and recovery of tigers,” she added.
Lam said that conservation efforts will be explored, including restoring severely logged areas with grasslands to better support species that are the natural prey of the Malayan tiger, such as gaur and Sambar deer.
Asked about measurable goals set by the authorities and how the public can assess this, she replied that Panthera’s tiger conservation goal, in general, is to increase tiger numbers in the reserve by at least 50 percent over a 10-year period.
Vaz said their goals include reducing poaching activities and the number of animal traps.
There are only 13 countries with tigers, and Malaysia has fewer than 150 left. - Mkini
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