NO to sale of turtle eggs
Did you read this on The Star Online yesterday?
Terengganu ‘no’ to turtle egg trade
KUALA TERENGGANU: Terengganu will not issue any licence for turtle egg trading.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said he would not consider any proposal to issue such licences.
“As the chief minister, I have great intention to preserve the leatherback turtles here,” he told The Star, commenting on press reports on Oct 12 that the state government was expected to review the Fisheries Act to allow the issuance of licences for turtle egg traders.
“I will not think of legalising the trade in turtle eggs.”
The reports, quoting state Agriculture and Regional Development committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jidin Shafee, said the state government proposed the move to monitor the sale of turtle eggs.
Following the reports, the British Broadcasting Corporation condemned the proposal as a “crazy” plan.
Idris said the state government would protect the state’s turtles and would not go back on its plans to preserve them.
The Menteri Besar did not exactly comment on the statement released by the st*pid politician but then his comments showed that he cared about what other people (in this case the BBC, which reported that the proposal was a crazy plan) think of the state government of Terengganu.
But then again, he said “I have great intention to preserve the leatherback turtles here” but what about the other three species of turtles that nest in the Malaysian waters? So if he were to legalize the sale of green turtle eggs in the future, he wouldn’t be seen as the Chief Minister who broke his promises to the rakyat, would he? Are there other hidden agendas behind his short-and-can-easily-be-misinterpreted comment? Or did he merely utter those short sentences to please certain parties?
Maybe I think too much. Bleh.
Well, at least there’s talk about it, so there may yet be hope.
It’s not the policies, it’s the enforcement that usually fails. Let’s hope the authorities won’t fail the turtles.
pelf: You’re so so right, at least he commented about it. At least he didn’t say he needed time to consult with that st*pid politician, who probably said something like that to garner votes, hahhaha :))