(MY) Sabah wants its rare orchids back

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Friday January 20, 2006 - The Star

 

Sabah wants its rare orchids back

 

By EDDIE CHUA

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sabah Wildlife Department and Sabah Parks will make

a direct request to the British authorities for the return of six of

the state's rarest orchid species that were smuggled into Britain 18

months ago by a Malaysian scientist.

 

The Paphiopedilum Rothschildianum orchids are now kept at Kew Gardens.

 

" We will make every effort to see the plants returned to their natural

habitat, " department director Patrick Andau told The Star.

 

The Paphiopedilum or slipper genus, one of the rarest orchids, is

found only in a remote part of Mount Kinabalu.

 

On Monday, Lim Sian, 32, head of research and development of Medpharm

Ltd, a pharmaceutical company, was sentenced to four months jail by

the British court for smuggling 130 rare orchids, including the rare

Sabah species, into Britain.

 

Despite an extensive search for the species spanning over 100 years,

botanists have only found the plants growing in a few places on Mount

Kinabalu.

 

Andau said they would discuss the matter with Sabah Parks, which

manages Mount Kinabalu, to make the necessary arrangement for the

orchids, which are on the brink of extinction, to be returned.

 

Lim, an ardent orchid collector, had admitted to 13 charges of

illegally importing the rare orchids in 2004, but denied doing it for

commercial gain.

 

Pleading in mitigation at the Isleworth Crown Court in west London, he

claimed he had only brought the plants back into Britain because the

Malaysian climate was " too hot " .

 

British Customs officials and plant conservationists who examined

Lim's haul discovered that 126 plants of the 130 they seized from his

luggage on June 2, 2004, at Heathrow airport were all Asian slipper

orchids.

 

All-Asian slipper orchids are strictly regulated under the Convention

on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

 

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Saturday January 21, 2006

 

Sarawak to record DNA of 5,000 plants

 

By STEPHEN THEN

 

Sarawak is to start DNA profiling of some 5,000 jungle plants that

could be used to develop new drugs or medicines.

 

These plant species were collected from jungle areas with the help of

Bidayuh and Penans from the interior lowlands and Kelabits and Lun

Bawangs from the Bario Highlands, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri

Dr George Chan Hong Nam.

 

" Sarawak Biodiversity Cen-tre has identified and taken samples from

more than 5,000 plants and herbs. Some of the plants are unique to

Sarawak.

 

" They are used traditionally by ethnic groups to deal with ailments

and illnesses in rural areas.

 

" We (the state) want to analyse all the plants and see if we can

develop new drugs or medicines from them, " said Dr Chan, who is also

State Agriculture and Modernisation Minister and State Industrial

Deve- lopment Minister in an interview.

 

The centre would soon start DNA analysis on the specimens at its

molecular and chemistry laboratories in Kuching, he added.

 

" However, for more specific and in-depth scientific analysis, we may

have to send the DNA results to more established research centres and

universities, either in other parts of Malaysia or overseas, " he said.

 

Dr Chan said that Sarawak did not have local scientists experienced in

higher and more advanced levels of medicine.

 

The state is collaborating with several renowned foreign scientists to

help develop a local pool of expertise as it has great potential in

coming up with new medicines and drugs, he added.