Karim frowns at orangutan diplomacy by federal ministry

KUCHING: Giving orangutans as gifts to major trading partners who buy Malaysia’s palm oil is not a very good move, said Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

The Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts said orangutans are always associated with Borneo which comprises Sarawak, Sabah and West Kalimantan.

“We are very proud of that primate … it is a protected animal not just in Sarawak, Malaysia but also in Indonesia,” he told a press conference after launching the Sarawak Tourism Destination Resilience Workshop here on today (May 20).

He said that orangutans are well taken care of in Sarawak which ensures the habitat of orangutans are not spoilt by the chopping of trees and plantations.

“We don’t need to give, we look after our orangutans well (and) we can always showcase them (orangutans) in our promotions.

“The best place for these kinds of animals are in their natural habitat, not in the zoo or in cages,” he said.

However, Abdul Karim stressed that if the orangutan policy were to work, Malaysia should follow China’s policy on pandas.

“They (China) can give away pandas but you don’t own the panda. After a few years they will take it back,” he said.

Recently, Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said Malaysia intends to introduce “orangutan diplomacy” to palm oil trading countries.

He described this approach as a diplomatic strategy through which Malaysia plans to offer orangutans as gifts to trading partners and foster foreign relations, particularly with major importing nations such as the European Union, India and China.