By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, May 12: Those who intend to venture into swiftlet farming must apply for a licence and operate from densely populated locations, says Datuk Len Talif Salleh.
The Deputy Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Sarawak said there are a total of 491 licence holders permitted to operate swiftlet farming.
However, 800 more operators have yet to get their licences, which would be considered illegal if they proceed to operate their farms.
“Those with no permit should apply because we have guidelines (in swiftlet farming).
“However, we will not give the permit to those operating their farms in town areas. That is a no-no because we may face diseases where birds can also be a carrier of viruses and whatnot,” he said at a press conference after officiating the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Category II kick-off and memorandum of understanding (MOU) exchange between Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) and Sunway University held at Hilton Hotel here today.
Len Talif further noted that SFC was recently accused of unlawful enforcement activity in Sibu. Still, he defended the SFC officers’ action, arguing that the swiftlet farming operators have made offences despite having permits.
“Despite having permits, they have operated their farms not according to the processes stated under the Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998, which made their operations illegal too.
“Our Ordinance has clearly stated the necessary permits for those involved in the swiftlet farming industry from setting up the ‘swiftlet house’ to export the product because we want to protect the birds’ nest industry.
“We do not want the unscrupulous and irresponsible operators to tarnish the name of the industry because 5 to 7 years ago, we had a problem exporting birds’ nests to China due to detecting high nitrate levels in the products. Thus, we need to protect most industry players, so we need to be strict in imposing the law,” he added.
Section 29(2) of the Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998 states that licences are needed to sell and have protected animals. Violating this could lead to a fine of RM10,000 and imprisonment for a year.
Under Section 33(2)(b) of the same ordinance, swiftlet farm owners need licences to operate, with violators facing a fine of RM5,000.
Meanwhile, Rule 18(a) of the Wild Life Protection (Edible Birds’ Nests) Rules, 1998, strictly prohibits swiftlet farms on town land. A fine of RM3,000 or imprisonment for six months or both may be imposed on those violating the rule.
Swiftlet farms are also prohibited from being built on suburban land without written approval from the Divisional Superintendent of Land and Survey, as stated under Rule 18(b).
Rule 18(a) and (b) of the Wildlife Protection (Edible Birds’ Nests) (Amendment) Rules, 2006 prohibits farms from being set up on land cleared or declared to be town area under Section 11(1) of the Land Code, unless the special condition of the title for the ground allows it to be used for agriculture and written approval has been obtained from the divisional Superintendent of Land and Survey Department for the erection of a building to be used for swiftlet farming.
Amongst those present at the press conference were Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia, Karimata Atsushi; Sunway University president Prof Sibrandes Poppema; SFC chief executive officer Zolkipli Mohamad Aton; and deputy chief executive officer Abang Arabi Abang Aimran. — DayakDaily
