Kuching: Pending Assemblywoman Violet Yong Wui Wui has raised alarm over Sarawak’s growing role in the illegal wildlife trade, urging the state government to take decisive action to protect critically endangered species such as the Sunda pangolin.
Yong said that while Sarawak promotes itself as a leader in sustainability through renewable energy, carbon valuation, and forest restoration, “sustainability is not just about trees and carbon credits – it is about life.”
“Our forests are living ecosystems, and without healthy wildlife populations, the very foundation of sustainability collapses.
“Wildlife, big or small, keeps our forests alive. When species disappear, pollinators vanish, seed dispersal stops, and the forest falls silent. Protecting wildlife is not optional; it is essential to Sarawak’s environmental integrity and cultural heritage,” she said during her debate on the State Budget 2026 at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) yesterday.
She said the reality is troubling, as Sarawak has become part of the illegal wildlife trade network in Southeast Asia after enforcement records showed that Sarawak’s strategic land and maritime routes are now attracting international trafficking syndicates.
“Between April and September this year, 444 arrests were made under Ops Bersepadu Khazanah, and Sarawak has been flagged as a new transit point for turtles, reptiles, and other wildlife, with total seizures valued at over RM204 million. This is the scale we are dealing with,” she said.
Yong highlighted among the most alarming is the illegal trade of pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammal.
“Globally, one million pangolins have been poached in the past decade. In Southeast Asia, nearly 900,000 were trafficked in just 20 years. Malaysia has been implicated repeatedly in major seizures.
“In Sarawak, we saw a staggering case in 2022 where a foreign national was fined RM27.8 million for possessing pangolins and over 2,700 scales in Kuala Baram. And yet, many past offenders got away with penalties far too lenient to deter anyone,” she said.
She stressed that these are not just statistics, but they represent a major loss of biodiversity and a direct threat to ecological stability, and Sarawak cannot afford inaction.
She, therefore, called on the state government to implement three key measures:
- Strengthen legal protection by listing the Sunda pangolin as a totally protected species under the Sarawak Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998. Pangolins eat ants and termites, playing a crucial ecological role in our forests.
- Boost enforcement, using technology-based surveillance and stronger intelligence-sharing to intercept trafficking routes.
- Launch public awareness campaigns to dismantle dangerous myths about pangolin scales and curb demand both locally and internationally.
“Sarawak’s sustainability narrative must be holistic. It cannot stop at forests and carbon pricing. We must protect the living creatures that keep our ecosystems functioning.
“If we claim leadership in sustainability, then let us be a fortress against wildlife crime and a beacon of true biodiversity conservation,” she said.
