Orang Utans to the Rescue

August 18 2009
Today in the Star 18 August 2009, I saw an article which delighted me tremendously. Rhino rescue - Tam, a mature male found wandering in an oil palm estate a year ago, will be the first resident of a new rhino sanctuary in Sabah. The sanctuary is an initiative jointly set up by Sime Darby Foundation and the Sabah Governmnet. Congratulations to Sime Darby, the biggest conglomerate player in the Malaysian palm oil industry! The company will be pumping in RM7.3 million, including RM5mil for the infrastructure to build the 4,500ha for the rhinos in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve. The project is part of Sime Darby's Big 9 campaign to protect 9 endangered Malaysian animal species - the Sumatran Rhino, Orang Utan, Hornbill, Sun Bear, Banteng(Wild Cattle), Clouded Leopard, Pygmy Elephant, Proboscis Monkey and the Malayan Tiger. Good for the Orang Utans. This is a noble act not only to preserve our own species, but also to show the world that Malaysian oil palm industry is not destroying the natural habitat of the Orang Utans.