KUANTAN: The Regent of Pahang has pledged to do his best to help bring the Malayan tiger back from the brink of extinction.

       Tengku Mahkota Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said the Malayan tiger was the symbol of the strength and bravery of Malaysians but today, the magnificent animal was critically endangered.

       "We need decisive and determined action to save the Malayan tiger.

       "Therefore, I, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, pledge that I will make it my solemn duty to ensure that I will do my best to help bring the Malayan tiger back from the brink of extinction," he said in a statement on Friday (June 10).

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       The Regent called on the Pahang government to commit to fully implementing urgent actions to conserve the Malayan tiger.

       In particular, he said the highest priority should be given to establishing effective enforcement units to eradicate poaching in forests and to ensure that poachers and their enablers were apprehended and brought to justice.

       Tengku Hassanal added that core tiger habitats, starting with the Greater Taman Negara Landscape, should be protected without delay to safeguard essential tiger habitat and to prevent further habitat loss.

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       He also said that the connectivity of important wildlife corridors in the Central Forest Spine should be restored with the protection of the primary and secondary linkages.

       "In order to achieve the three urgent actions above, we shall avail ourselves of essential knowledge, technology, resources and technical assistance from both local and international experts and we shall support strong collaboration with the Federal Government and adjacent state governments.

       "If we undertake these actions wholeheartedly, I believe that we can save the tiger, a revered icon of Malaysia, and in so doing, we will safeguard forests which are a critical part of our nation's irreplaceable heritage of biodiversity, providing essential ecosystem services for the well-being of our people," said Tengku Hassanal.