Highly recommended — famed Malaysian blogger TV Smith’s photo essay “A Monkey’s Last Stand” . Eloquent. Evocative. Powerful. A sad commentary of Malaysia celebrating 50th Merdeka anniversary.
This is TV Smith’s first of four photo-essays:
Bukit Melawati, 22nd August 2007: Despite his patriotic stand, he will soon be stripped of his citizenship and banished to another country. Perhaps, our monkeys were already doomed when people in authority likened bloggers to them.
The Cabinet has literally signed their death warrant by withdrawing protection for the so-called urban monkeys under the Wildlife Protection Act. How can we stand tall as a nation, when we so casually shrugged-off our responsibility to protect the weak and defenseless?
Visit http://www.mycen.com.my/sightings/sightings220807_monkey.html to ponder whether it is “The Alamo” for another of our great fundamental rights.
#1 by k1980 on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 12:25 pm
Actually, our monkeys are not only stripped of their citizenship and banished to another country. They are to be abused and tortured in American medical/defence laboratories, suffering and dying while undergoing experiments in the name of advancement of humanity.
#2 by ADAM YONG IBNI ABDULLAH on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 12:42 pm
I am little confused here , with the real monkeys and the monkeys look – alike , and wannable monkeys, and of course me- a monkey too because we blog.
k1980- what monkey are you refering to.?
read my lips.
#3 by devilmaster on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 1:50 pm
ooh, those monkeys looked adorable than those high-class beggars/parasites in Bolehland. I love monkeys.
#4 by teckwyn on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 2:32 pm
I have friends that work in Perhilitan (the wildlife department) who told me that the lifting of the ban on monkey export was engineered by the former Perhilitan director general and the current minister. Apparently, a deal has been struck with one of the top wildlife dealers to export monkeys – with kickbacks going to the ex-DG and the YB Minister.
Local market price for one macaque is about RM10-20, export price is around RM250. They are targeting exporting around 80,000 macaques a year. Which would rake in a cool RM20m.
#5 by dawsheng on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 2:44 pm
“How can we stand tall as a nation, when we so casually shrugged-off our responsibility to protect the weak and defenseless?”
This is the era of Islam Hadhari, it is a jungle out here.
#6 by Godfather on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 2:48 pm
And the big monkey from UMNO Youth is keeping mum about it….perhaps he is hoping that some of us would also get “exported” involuntarily.
#7 by smeagroo on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 3:00 pm
Just export the big monkey and prime monkey too.
#8 by sabah tun on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 3:30 pm
Ohh… I thought it was some UMNO or KJ monkeys in the cabinet…my bad.
#9 by ADAM YONG IBNI ABDULLAH on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 5:07 pm
HOW LOW CAN WE GO?
now even the real monkeys that swing from trees to trees are not spared.
GOD SAVE MALAYSIA.
#10 by UFOne on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 9:53 pm
Real monkeys have to go because they are cutting down the trees which are their homes. So the money from the sale of the monkeys and timber make someone even richer.
#11 by mendela on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 11:35 pm
We must export the Kurang Jar monkey to the American lab. It is good for the scientists to study how monkeys develop greed, lie and corrupt behaviour from this Kurang Jar monkey alone!
One will do, need not export too many.
May be Hisap-puding monkey should be exported too for violent behaviours and kris-waving research.
#12 by Jonny on Tuesday, 21 August 2007 - 11:43 pm
its a whole lotsa monkey biz ongoing in our country. 10 days to merdeka. Where are the flags? LOL.
Tepuk dada tanya selera.
#13 by teckwyn on Saturday, 15 September 2007 - 2:25 am
A degree of confirmation regarding my allegations of corruption above on the export of macaques (from The Star):
…“The very fact that the Malaysian government has ruled out culling suggests that there may be financial motivation involved .
It also looks like the government is attempting to create an export market,†said Eudey.
Mohd Khan questioned the assertion by the authorities that “it is better to export than to cullâ€Â.
“Better for whom?†he asked. “Follow the money trail and trace who the benefactors are.â€Â
Last week, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid candidly told participants at a climate change workshop that he had been approached by “some bright people who saw that money could be made from exporting monkeysâ€Â.
Sources said the proposal to export monkeys came up prior to the retirement of Perhilitan director-general, Datuk Musa Nordin, last October. In a telephone interview, Musa said he was “indirectly involved†in the trade but declined to comment when asked if he had teamed up with a wildlife trader.
When pressed further, he said: “Go talk to Perhilitan. They’re the one making the policy. I’ve retired.â€Â
Sources reveal that at least one company has submitted a business plan to the ministry proposing an export volume of between 12,000 and 20,000 monkeys per year. Each shipment will carry between 2,000 and 2,500 specimens.
The business plan lists the likely buyers as two laboratories and one breeding centre in China. One of the laboratories is Kunming Primate Research Centre, which is affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The centre was set up in 2005 as a research base for experiments against infectious diseases and bio-terrorism. – By Hilary Chiew and S.S. Yoga