The Malayan tiger is crucial to Malaysia’s cultural identity. It is featured in the country’s coat of arms and used as a symbol in sport and business. But despite its significance, the country is at risk of losing its national icon as the apex predator inches closer to extinction.
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While tigers have experienced a remarkable recovery in Nepal and seen some conservation success in India, in Malaysia protecting the species from oblivion has been a challenging task for the government, scientists and environmental groups with conservation efforts seeing little success.
The Malayan tiger, panthera tigris jacksoni, is one of six unique subspecies of tigers native to Peninsular Malaysia and one of the smallest tigers in the world. The majestic mammals are listed as critically endangered under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with fewer than 150 left in the wild.
In recent months, a spate of roadkills have raised eyebrows among locals, heightening fears that the flagship species is facing yet another crisis that threatens its survival, in addition to habitat loss and poaching.
On 16 May 2024, an adult tiger was found dead beside the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway near Lentang in Bentong, Pahang after being hit by a vehicle. This followed the discovery of a carcass of a Malayan tiger floating in a stream in the rural northern state of Kelantan by forest rangers, in late June.
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The more you destroy forests, the more tigers will decline.
Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil, former president, Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia
About a week later, another tiger was found dead in a drain off the North-South Expressway near Gua Tempurung in Gopeng, Perak.
Eco-Business speaks to WWF Malaysia’s tiger conversation director, Henry Chan who sheds light on some of the pressing issues impacting the survival of the species and highlights the urgent need for comprehensive conservation efforts.
Chan said a lack of prey is one of the major reasons why more and more tigers are leaving their natural habitat, risking their lives to cross dangerous highways in search of food.
He said these incidents reveal the underlying issues of habitat fragmentation and insufficient and poorly designed wildlife crossings that need immediate attention.
“Infrastructure development causes habitat fragmentation, forcing tigers to cross dangerous roads. We are advocating for wildlife corridors and crossings to provide safe passage for tigers and other wildlife,” Chan said.
A viaduct in Gerik that allows safe passage for tigers and other wild animals. Image: Azlan Mohamed/WWF Malaysia
He noted that constructing underpasses and overpasses reduces road fatalities. Such structures have proven effective in countries such as the United States and Canada.
“The establishment of forest corridors to connect fragmented habitats is a promising strategy. These corridors help tigers move safely between protected areas, which is essential for their genetic diversity and survival,” he told Eco-Business.
Chan added that efforts to restore degraded habitats are ongoing and continuous investment and monitoring are needed to ensure the success of these projects.
Malaysia has taken a number of steps to protect its national animal from extinction, including a cabinet agreement on nine extraordinary actions for the conservation of the Malayan tiger for a period of 10 years, from 2021 to 2030.
This includes the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Task Force in 2021 and the Malayan Tiger Conservation Centre in Lanchang, Temerloh for tiger reintroduction programmes in 2023.
The Pahang state government has also been working on key conservation initiatives that create incentives for protecting the species. Last year, the state gazetted 134,183 hectares of land for the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tigers Reserve.
As the first of its kind in Malaysia, the reserve, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2028, will be included in the Malaysian Forest Fund scheme’s carbon credit projects, contributing to collective efforts to enhance forest conservation.
Besides these efforts, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) is also working on reviving as many wildlife corridors as possible in Peninsular Malaysia’s Central Forest Spine, the main home range for Malayan tigers.
NRES’ minister, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad told journalists during a recent event that the federal government has increased ecological fiscal transfers – that is, the transfer of taxes between government bodies based on ecological indicators – to states for forest protection from RM60 million (US$12.89 million) to RM200 million (US$42.96 million) per year, recognising habitat loss as the root cause of the dwindling tiger population.
“The amount is increasing, but we know it needs to be increased, to ensure a holistic solution towards conserving tigers,” he said.
He also said at a different event that his ministry, through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), is working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Malaysia and using the Global Environment Facility fund, a multilateral fund that provides grants and blended finance for biodiversity projects, to put US$1.5 million into tiger conservation work in Pahang, through to 2028.
Forest fragmentation is one of the root causes that force tigers to come out of their natural habitat in search of food. Image: WWF Malaysia
Despite the efforts, Chan said there are still significant challenges that need to be addressed to ensure their long-term effectiveness.
Environmental activist and former president of non-profit Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil said that too much development continues to stand in the way of forest protection.
“The more you destroy forests, the more tigers will decline. Forest destruction is one of the main reasons why wild animals such as tigers are disappearing quickly,” Shariffa said.
She added that the building of new highways and the East Coast Rail Line that cuts through virgin forests as well as commercial plantations for crops such as durian are some of the reasons why Peninsular Malaysia’s forests are under constant threat.
Contrary to Chan’s belief, Shariffa said forest corridors are not that effective in addressing the problem of declining tiger populations as there is a risk of increased poaching.
“Corridors will open the door for poachers, and I don’t think Malaysia is ready for this,” she said.
Collective action among government agencies, NGOs, the private sector, and local communities is crucial to ensuring the success of Malaysia’s efforts to protect its national animal.
To realise this aspiration, Chan said legislation and enforcement need to be strengthened. This includes enhanced penalties for poaching and habitat destruction, effective speed limit enforcement, and warning signs in wildlife zones to reduce roadkill incidents, as well as stricter enforcement of wildlife protection laws.
Successful partnerships like Project Stampede, an intensive patrolling and monitoring initiative to combat poaching supported by Maybank Foundation and WWF Malaysia, also need to be in place to ensure the survival of the critically endangered Malayan tiger, he said.
