Okay. The cat is out of the bag.

In a report this week the World Bank, no less, has named and shamed Malaysia because at least one-fifth of its wildlife face extinction.

Imagine. Species like the tiger, rhino, elephants, gone forever from Malaysia.

Despite the tragedy of such magnificent species being wiped out by man’s greed and extremely poor law enforcement, what are you going to tell your children and grandchildren when they ask you, yes you, “Why didn’t you save them while there was still time?” Who are you going to blame? How about yourself?

Taking responsibility is not something taken seriously by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), as you undoubtedly know, but this does not stop you from taking action, does it?

Do you support proactive NGOs like Malaysia’s Friends of the Animals or Malaysia’s Friends of the Orangutans? It won’t hurt you to offer help of some kind, will it? Both organisations can be found on Facebook and they need you to start caring and helping because Malaysia’s wildlife needs all the help it can get right now.

If you really want to blame anyone for Malaysia’s unique and fast-disappearing wildlife, you surely know the Sabah Wildlife Department, the ministry, Perhilitan, and the palm oil industry are all very guilty and thoroughly deserving of whatever criticism you might want to throw at them.

Whatever you choose to do to help save Malaysia’s wildlife, you might want to do it now. The extinction alarm bells are ringing loud and clear. The questions is; will you take action now, while it is fresh in your mind and not too late to save the tigers, elephants, rhinos and other of Malaysia’s disappearing wildlife?

SEAN WHYTE is CEO, Nature Alert.