Please see the recent articles on the swiftlet issue here and here from NST and Aliran on June 23, 2010.
Please also see the recent article here from MalaysiaKini on June 23, 2010 (posted below for those without an account):
| George Town heritage listing threatened by swiftlets Susan Loone | Jun 23, 10 3:26pm |
George Town’s World Heritage Listing is at risk from the burgeoning swiftlet breeding industry, said Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) trustee Mohammad Anwar Fazal Mohammed. Anwar, a former Asia-Pacific regional advisor on Urban Governance for the United Nations, said the industry had become “preposterous and intolerable”. He said that the flourishing industry now poses very serious health, social and heritage problems. “It is a flagrant dereliction of duty by the authorities to allow the situation to continue,” said Anwar (left), who is also vice-chairperson of environmental NGO, Sahabat Alam Malaysia. “The proposed guidelines must be quickly made public and discussed by the stakeholders most affected, especially the local neighborhood and community,” he added. Anwar said while it was true that swiftlet breeding is an immensely lucrative industry, it should be very strictly licensed and their location should be only in designated or approved areas . “Just as we have Free Trade Zones, industrial areas and special areas for pig farms, the authorities could proactively designate areas ,and set up an agency that regulates and monitors this systematically,” he suggested. Feds yet to provide guidelines Two years ago on July 7, George Town was listed as a World Heritage site, and the state government had declared the same day as a state holiday effective this year. The issue of swiftlets has risen as civil society ponders how the state would manage the problem, with tourists being invited to attend a month-long George Town Heritage Festival in July which plans to showcase about 80 arts and cultural events. The problem has not gone unnoticed by the authorities as George Town World Heritage office assistant general manager Maimunah Mohd Sharif had reportedly stated that the swiftlet industry posed a conflict to the World Heritage listing, and should be relocated. Penang Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow (right) had said that the moratorium on swiftlet farming should not be taken as a sign that the state government is allowing the activity in urban areas. He said the moratorium has been extended three times as the state is still waiting for the national guidelines on the industry from the Agriculture Department and the Veterinary Services Department. Chow, who is also Tanjung parliamentarian, added that the state recognises the swiftlet farming industry as a revenue earning trade but it should be done properly and is mulling over the idea of moving the industry out of urban areas such as George Town. Extend moratorium, urges group Meanwhile, PHT council member Rebecca Duckett has urged the state to extend the moratorium on swiftlet breeding so that operators cannot start any new farms in George Town. The moratorium was set up to halt the proliferation of swiftlet houses in George Town, not as an open bill for them to proliferate freely, said Duckett. “The breeders are openly setting up new farms all over George Town; by condoning and allowing this to happen the state Government and municipal councils accept that they are responsible for any negative impact on public health and environment,” she added. Duckett requested that the state creates a heft annual tax to be paid by each individual urban swiftlet farm until they have moved from the urban areas of George Town on or before the deadline set by the state government. “Laws are being enforced by the state government on developers, residents and landlords that are trying to revitalise George Town as a residential, cultural, heritage and tourist hub, yet swiftlet farms are being allowed to proliferate freely, beyond the realms of law,” she said. “The state government must act with a balanced hand,” she stressed. |
2 comments:
My goodness, tourism/UNESCO under threaten by swiftlets in Penang? What kind of silly excuse is that? Penang has lost its listing on the tourism map more than 10yrs ago. Blame the swiftlets? Please go get your facts right. Why don't blame the crows? Or eagles? Or Owls? You your own stupidity excuses? Wasting my time here.
Bob
Bob, sound like you are one of the illegal swiftlet operators in town. Don't deny the fact that the population of swiftlet population in George Town has burgeoned to hundreds of thousands now. Every morning and evening time, the skyline of George Town has become a scene of horror movie with tons of such birds circling us. I'm one of the town dwellers living next to a swiftlet house and extremely annoyed by the non-stop electronic bird twitter recorder sound that blasted at my neighbourhood and have to put up with the dirty environment with bird shits conveniently swiped out of the house and straight into the common drain. We the residents are constantly live in fear that one day we will become the victims of the bird flu outbreak. I can't believe that our government has closed their eyes to such illegal, unregistered swiftlet operations for so many years and took no action against them. May be many of these selffish operators have political backing from BN then. How could someone with the right mind do such illegal and damagaing destruction of traditional shophouses interior and say nothing will happen to tourism or UNESCO World heritage site. If some one dies or got sick from the bird flu plague, the news will spread to the whole world and tourists will avoid Penang. I demand that justice be done onto you lawless people as soon as possible.
Jimmy Lim
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