'No need to relocate Lok Kawi Wildlife Park'
Published on: Friday, June 22, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew said there is no need to move the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park to Sugud in Penampang.Instead, what the 11-year-old park needs is further improvement of its facilities and amenities in order to be more attractive to visitors, she said."As far as I'm concerned, this place is good enough. I don't see the need to move away.
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But I see the need to improve the facilities and amenities," she told reporters after visiting the Park, Thursday.Sabah Wildlife Department forwarded a proposal to the State Government few years ago to move the Park to a 1,618.7-hectare site in Sugud, 25km away. The size of the existing Park, which is home to a variety of animals such as orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinos, sun bears, hornbills, tigers, deer and foxes, is 113.3 hectares. It was opened to the public on Feb 17, 2007.
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Liew visited the Park accompanied by the Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Datu Rusmadi Sulai, and Sabah Wildlife Director Augustine Tuuga, in response to allegations about mistreatment of the animals by Friends of the Orangutans Malaysia recently.Its Director Upreshpal Singh reportedly said the organisation had received several photos showing the elephants in the Park being kept in chains and unable to roam freely.
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He also said the one tiger in the Park was confined to a small and mouldy enclosure and cages of some of the animals and reptiles were filthy.But from her two-hour visit, Liew did not find any sign of the animals being cruelly treated."Overall, we're quite happy with the condition. The allegations about animals dying of starvation does not seem to arise. On the contrary, some of the animals need to go on a diet because they're fat and oversized," she said.She also said the Park was kept clean.However, she said she had instructed the Park management to improve certain areas such as ensuring the ponds are cleaned, drains are not blocked and proper fencing."I leave the technical details to the Director and the Permanent Secretary. Otherwise, as far as I'm concerned, I'm happy," she said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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