COP - Centre for Orangutan Protection

COP - Centre for Orangutan Protection

Orangutans were slaughtered in Muara Kaman, East Kalimantan. The police have grilled 25 witnesses and have arrested four people suspects, one of them is the mastermind behind the orangutan deaths, the Estate Manager of Metro Kajang Holdings Berhad. They face up to five years in jail, if found guilty of violating the Law on National Resources Conservation. The orangutan killing is a purely a criminal case. The President’s policy to deploy a team of the National Police to probe orangutan killing should be commended. This is a smart move which will gain two government affairs as well; the national ecology and economy.

Hardi Baktiantoro, Principal of Centre for Orangutan Protection, said:

“Metro Kajang Holdings Berhad has committed crimes against the orangutans that are an endangered species. And this is generally done by palm oil plantation companies because they consider orangutans as pests. The fact states that many orangutans are living in the rescue and rehabilitation centers in Balikpapan, Palangkaraya, Pangkalan Bun, Ketapang and also Samarinda. Almost entirely of 1200 orangutans are rescued from palm oil plantation. If it is a baby, the orangutan mother must have been killed. And if it is an adult orangutan which be rescued, nearly 100% must be severe hands and head injuries because of tied up with rope or beaten up by the workers. The rescue team of the Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) is the eyewitness that can be used as evidence of the crimes against orangutans. The lack of law enforcement is the answer why crime and brutality of the orangutans still continue. Until today, no one has been persecuted or in jail because of these matters.”

“The Metro Kajang Holdings Berhad behind the orangutans death is the right moment to execute a total correction of mistakes that have been made in palm oil industry development over the years. The legality is certainty an interest for investment. In the opposite, the political interest to stop the legal process will result corruption practice and abuse of authority. And in the end, it will only undermine the business world.”