Shafie (4th right) receiving a memento from Tawfiq.
KOTA KINABALU: Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is constantly carrying out efforts to address the issue of wildlife threats in Sabah.
UMS vice chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Tawfiq Yap Yun Hin said that a research on the breeding of the Sumatran rhinoceros is among the initiatives taken by the university.
He also said that although the process had undergone failures, the university is committed to carry on its effort to conserve the wildlife.
“Because there is only one Sumatran rhinoceros left in Sabah, we will endeavour to attain the sperm of male Sumatran rhinoceros,” he said.
Sabah lost her last male Sumatran rhinoceros with the death of Kretam last May 27. Kretam or Tam had been kept at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve since his capture at an oil palm plantation in Tawau in 2010.
Presently, Sabah has one remaining Sumatran rhinoceros, a female named Iman.
He said that they hope to be able to carry out breeding process and consequently increase the population of the Sumatran rhinoceros in Sabah.
He told this to reporters after conducting a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Haji Apdal at the latter’s office yesterday.
Dr Tawfiq also said that UMS will be holding its 21st Convocation on Nov 23 to 25.
He said that a total of 4,157 students would be graduating, out of whom 62 percent are Sabahans while 123 are international students.
Yesterday, Shafie also received a call from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, Niloy Banerjee.
Niloy, when speaking to the media, said that the UNDP wants to bring its expertise to local areas in Sabah and help in three major areas which are land use, wildlife conservation and in the empowerment of youth through entrepreneurship.
He said that they will be receiving an allocation of between USD15 million and USD16 million within four years.