The official results of the DNA analysis to determine whether orangutans kept at a resort in Malacca are of the endangered Sumatran variety will be ready next week, said a forensics expert at the Chemistry Department today.

Head of the department's biotechnology unit (GMO) Dr Ahmad Latfi Mahmud said the analysis and writing of the report were in their final stages and would be submitted to the Wildlife Department upon completion.

"We're in the process of writing the report, it has almost been completed. We will inform Wildlife (Department) to get the report," he told malaysiakini when contacted but did not elaborate.

The results of the DNA testing on about eight orangutans currently held at the A'Famosa Resort, would determine whether they are local Bornean orangutans or Sumatran orangutans ( pongo pygmaeus abelii ), commercial trade in which is prohibited.

Recognised as 'critically endangered' under the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Indonesia has prohibited export of these animals since 2000.

Orangutans had for some years been featured in shows at the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, with the master of ceremonies having allegedly even introduced the orangutans as an "endangered species" that are "found only in Sumatra."

No longer performing

Only after a member of the public had complained that the organisers were allegedly using Sumatran orangutans, trade in which must be solely for purposes of scientific research or conservation, were the shows abruptly called off on April 9.

Previously, the show was held twice daily every weekend and three times during public holidays for about three years.

The Wildlife Department's law and enforcement director Misliah Mohd Basir has cast doubts that the orangutans were Sumatran, and insisted that only DNA samples from the orangutans can confirm their identity.

However, Dr Ian Singleton, scientific director of the Switzerland-based Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, has confirmed that the orangutans that he had seen captured on photographs while performing at the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park are "definitely Sumatran."