Strengthen political will to save the tiger

THANK you to Tan Cheng Li and The Star for highlighting once again the perilous state of our Malayan tiger, “Say No to dead tigers” (The Star, April 5).

Tethering on the brink of extinction with less than 300 left in the entire country due to poaching, trafficking and habitat loss, is there any chance that this emblem of our nation will not go the way of the Sumatran rhino?

It is obvious that there is not enough political will to put in the financial and human resources or policy and legal solutions needed to reverse the situation.

Sadly, I fear our country may have to start making preparations for the imminent demise of our beloved tiger.

We must look for a replacement for our national emblem that has zero likelihood of going extinct and can be found all over the country.

I propose that we adopt the Aedes mosquito! This is one crea- ture that is instantly recognisable to every Malaysian. It’s a creature no poacher would ever go for, and even if every square foot of forest in the country were bulldozed it would still survive, perhaps even thrive!

“Never!” you may say, but Malaysians seem to have a secret love affair with the Aedes. While we say we hate it and want it destroyed, we actually do all we can to let it thrive through our careless practices and shoddy policies.

On the other hand, we say we love the tiger and want it saved but we do the least to stop the poaching and to protect its habitats. How contrary is that?

William Blake fittingly chose the tiger to question this in his famous poem: “Tiger, tiger, burning bright In the forest of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”

Perhaps we as a nation do not deserve the tiger anymore!