(MY) - take care of fireflies

October 4, 2005

Wednesday September 28, 2005-The Star

Take care of the fireflies

By WANI MUTHIAH

KUALA SELANGOR: Take care of the fireflies like you would care for your

children. This is Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo’s

advice to residents of Kampung Kuantan.

He said that as a world-renowned tourist attraction, the firefly colony in

Kampung Kuantan provided the villagers with a source of income.

Dr Khir, who earlier took a boat ride along the stretch of the Selangor

river in Kampung Kuantan, was unhappy that some berembang trees, a habitat

of the fireflies, had been indiscriminately chopped down.

“If there are people trying to chop down or destroy the trees here, report

the matter to the authorities immediately so that necessary action can be

taken,” he said after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on

the conservation and rehabilitation of the fireflies’ habitat.

With the signing of the MoU, the Selangor government, Tenaga Nasional Berhad

(TNB) and the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) would combine

their efforts to conserve and protect the firefly colony.

TNB would provide the financial requirements and infrastructure, while FRIM

would carry out studies on the firefly colony and its habitat.

Meanwhile, TNB chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie said the firefly was symbolic of

the services offered by TNB Berhad.

He added that this had prompted the organisation to look into the

possibility of making the insect its mascot.

The conservation and rehabilitation plan would look at the whole river

ecosystem, from the water quality, to the riverbank and the fireflies’

habitat.

The colony that had drawn crowds from all over the world for decades, has

been under threat in recent times due to the possible extinction of their

habitat – made up of berembang trees and nipah and sago palms – mainly due

to pollution.

The number of fireflies in the area has also dwindled greatly because of

pollution.

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