Malaysia must be serious in enforcing laws against the smuggling of illegal wildlife and wildlife products, including resolving the problems promptly, said a local environmental group.

Friends of the Earth (SAM) president SM Mohd Idris said the government must be sincere in coming down hard on unscrupulous wildlife traders by introducing tougher regulations and penalties.

He said law enforcement also lies with the local authorities with the public's cooperation, and not just with the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry.

"A major concern is whether the Wildlife Department has the personnel to keep tabs on every single shipment or is it (merely) a relaxed form of checks on goods leaving the country," he said in a statement.

"Again, there are many ports of entry/exit in the country that are not manned through which smugglers get their wares in."

He also questioned the alternative methods of enforcement against smuggling activities given the existing lack of manpower and security measures.

Match the smugglers

He said the ingenuity of smugglers in coming up with new sophisticated ways should be matched by an equally sophisticated enforcement by the ministry, the Wildlife Department, the Customs and Excise Department and the police.

Commending the government's recent announcement on beefing up law enforcement at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Mohd Idris said that such action is "long overdue".

"Previous cases of a large number of endangered species, particularly pangolins (also known as scaly anteaters), intercepted by the Wildlife authorities is highly alarming when these animals are hard to find in the wild locally.

"(And) yet poachers have the ability to capture them in such large numbers. If we are to succeed, we need to develop the professional skills necessary to tackle the challenges ahead."

He urged the government to give high priority to the training and education of law enforcers, including forest rangers, and police, customs and army officers.