Dept urged to follow up with probe on turtle egg dinner
KOTA KINABALU: Former Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew wants the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) to follow up with its investigation into the turtle egg dinner as reported in the media.
The former Deputy Chief Minister said the department must, by all means, trace how the turtle eggs found their way into the family home and ended up on the dining table as part of the menu for a Chinese New Year reunion dinner, believed to have taken place in Beluran.
"To deter would-be perpetrators, the department's investigation must lead to prosecution and conviction of the alleged offender. No one is above the law.
"I am utterly disappointed that some citizens have absolutely no respect for the law against the possession and consumption of turtle eggs in Sabah.
"To put a stop to this illegal activity, we must beef up the law with stricter enforcement and penalties as the order of the day," Liew said in a statement, here, Wednesday.
SWD director Augustine Tuuga was quoted as saying that the department was taking it upon themselves to investigate the matter although no one has come forward to lodge an official report on the incident.
Stressing that turtles are a totally protected species under Sabah's Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, Liew reminded the public that Section 41 of the Enactment states that it is an offence to possess these animals or their products (shell, meat and eggs).
"Offenders can be fined RM50,000 or jailed five years, or both, upon conviction."
Liew, who is also Tawau MP cum Api Api assemblywoman, concurred with the president of Friends of Sea Turtles Education & Research (Foster), Alexander Yee, that law enforcement and conservation effort must go hand in hand for a fruitful outcome.
"Without stringent measures to curb the smuggling and sale of turtle eggs, Foster's eightyear laudable conservation work may become a futile exercise ultimately," she cautioned.
In July 2013, Foster signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the SWD for the sea turtle conservation and protection programme on Libaran Island.
Five years later (2018), Liew, then as Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, witnessed the signing of a second MoU between Foster and the SWD for an extension of the collaborative programme until August 2023.