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TIME FOR UNITY. STAND UP AND START ORGANISE. DON'T BE AFRAID. TIME TO SAY NO TO THOSE CORRUPTED & EVIL BASTARDS. BE PREPARED. GET YOUR LEGAL PANEL ON STANDBY. IT IS EITHER YOU FINISH THEM OR THEY FINISH YOUR BH AND LIFELINE. WHAT MORE TO LOSE?????
'War of nerves' hits Sarawak's bird's nest industry.
Joe Fernandez | May 29, 09 4:43pm
The future of more than 1,500 swiftlet bird houses in Sarawak is left in the dark as it is bogged down by red tape, antiquated laws, threat of diseases, and an indifferent state government.
MCPX
Currently, there are two farms licensed to operate in urban areas in the state, while the rest had been told to stop their operation unless they acquire the approval to operate in approved areas.
Such locations, critics said, might not attract the birds to nestle.
"The swiftlet is not like a chicken or duck farm, where it can be caught and transferred," said Beh Heng Seong, chairman of the Malaysian Edible-Nest Swiftlet Merchants Association.
"It is impossible to transfer these birds. These birds have made the birdhouses as their nests. There are risks of the birds, especially the chicks, dying during transfer."
This has thrown a big question mark over a billion ringgit industry and Malaysia's status as the world's third largest producer of bird's nests after Indonesia and Thailand.
Birds nests are highly-priced exotic delicacy in Chinese restaurants and enjoy popular demand from China, Japan, the US and Europe.
In addition, the transfer of errant swiftlets would be out of the question since these birds are protected under the Wildlife Act 1972.
In Sarawak, the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998 states that birds can only live in its natural habitat such as caves, not in urban areas or its outskirts.
However, the Federal Wildlife Protection Rules (Edible Bird Nests) 1998 and Wildlife Protection Rules 1998 allow birds to be bred in agricultural areas far from the outskirts of towns.
In Peninsular Malaysia, unlike in Sarawak, swiftlet and swallow rearing is allowed in commercial lots or shop houses, but not in residential areas.
Again, there are no guarantee that transferred birds would readily take to the eco-parks that the state government has proposed for the unlicensed swiftlet bird farms.
The authority didn't provide a firm explanation over its policy such as whether the transfer of the errant swiftlets would be allowed, but merely reiterating its directive by urging the operators to stop their activities in the urban areas.
Better than those from Indonesia, Thailand
"The bird house should meet the needs of the swiftlets including moisture level of 80 to 90 percent with temperature between 26 Celsius and 32 Celsius and darkness," said Abdul Aziz Mohd Rejab, who runs swiftlet farming courses in Sabah. "The ideal darkness for a birdhouse is one lit with two candles."
Sabah has only 200 bird farms as compared to an estimated 40,000 nationwide.
While mulling their options, the recalcitrant bird farmers want a five-year grace period. The plea has been rejected by the authorities who are now engaged in a war of nerves with the bird farmers.
Bird's nest goes for around RM4,000 to RM6,000 per kilo in the local market. In the world market, it fetches RM6,000 to RM12,000 per kilo.
Certain grades can even reach as lucrative as RM12,000 to RM24,000 per kilo, given the steady demand from Chinese restaurants worldwide, Japan, the US, Europe and China.
The nests made by the edible-nest swiftlet and the black-nest swiftlet in Malaysia are said to be of better quality than those produced in Thailand or Indonesia.
Authorities in Sarawak had set Dec 31, 2008 as the deadline for swiftlet farms in the state to stop operating in urban areas. None of the farmers budged even an inch. In fact, they had formed a grouping to repeatedly force the state government to extend the deadline.
Not budging a bit
The state government extended the deadline to mid-February but again, it went unheeded.
This has forced the Sarawak Forest Corporation (SFC) to begin its ongoing crackdown against the farms. Most of the errant farms are in Mukah, Sibu, Sarikei and Bintulu.
In Kuching, SFC enforcement teams have so far raided a token six bird farm shophouses at Three Hills Park and removed their sound systems.
The system is used to mimic the bird's calls and lure them to the shophouses to mate and nest. The SFC teams had the police, City Hall officials from Kuching South as well as observers from the Land and Survey Department (LSD).
SFC general manager Len Thaliff Salleh confirmed that operations are being conducted throughout the state.
"They had ample time to move out," said Len. "The risk of epidemics is one of the reasons that the state government cannot allow swiftlet farming in towns."
"There are also complaints from the public on the stench from the bird droppings and the din from the speakers in the farms. The birds also disrupt food stalls near the farms."
He could not disclose the actual number of illegal birds nest farmers in Sarawak.
Sarawak Bird's Nest Import and Export Association President Tsai Mui Leong, also a bird house owner, stressed that the swiftlets were not reared by the farmers.
"We merely set up a place for the birds to live in. The SFC did not give us sufficient time to build a new environment for the birds," said Tsai.
He could not say why they had to lure the birds to shop houses in urban areas, a practice which has become a sore point with town folks and local authorities.
‘We'll follow guidelines, if there's one'
The SFC has also destroyed some bird houses in Mukah town, according to the Mukah Bird Nest Entrepreneurs Association chairman Philip Tiong, who represents 150 bird nest entrepreneurs.
"We want the government to legalise the bird houses. If there's a guideline, we will follow it."
Apparently, the state government can either centralise swiftlet farming in a specific location such as an eco-park or draw up strict guidelines for farms in urban areas. The latter was ruled out by the SFC.
"There should not be guidelines to set up bird houses in towns," said Len. "This contravenes the law."
Swiftlet farmers in Sarawak say that there is no guarantee that the birds will nestle in the proposed eco-parks either and want the state government to adopt the veterinary services department's best practices in animal breeding (GAHP) for their trade.
Under the GAHP, the noise from the speakers, set at a 60 degree angle, should not exceed 40 decibels.
There are also other conditions to ensure the swiftlet farms are set up in a conducive and environmentally-friendly setting.
"We talk about 1Malaysia," Mukah bird's nest trader John Low said cynically. "Why can't the state government follow the laws and guidelines in Peninsular Malaysia on bird's nest farming?"
Pro-tem chairman of the Sarikei Edible-Nest Swiftlet Merchants Association, Wong Hua Ting, added: "We hope the state government will prepare a guideline similar to the one in the Peninsula. We will fully cooperate with the state to solve this problem."
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May 27 2009, 06:27 PM
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