Perhilitan raids gibbon rehab centre, confiscates four gibbons

Officers from the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) have raided the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (Grep) in Pahang.

According to videos shared by Grep founder Mariani Ramli, police officers were also at the scene.

The raid came amidst an ongoing court case between Mariani and Perhilitan.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, Mariani said a group of Perhilitan officers arrived at about 8am this morning and said they wanted to confiscate six of the 15 gibbons at the sanctuary.

According to Mariani, the reason for the raid was that Perhilitan had recently established in a Court of Appeal decision that she had no permission to keep the gibbons. This was despite room for an appeal to the Federal Court.

“They want to take the gibbons because they say I have no right to take care of them. I lost the Court of Appeal case but the decision allows us to file an appeal. The court case is not over yet.

“This is really unfair. The officers didn’t even want to talk properly with my lawyer. They only wanted to listen to their (Perhilitan) director,” she said in a phone call.

Mariani was concerned that the raid would affect the welfare of the endangered apes.

“This will disrupt the gibbon rehabilitation process. They are not thinking about the welfare of these animals,” she exclaimed.

Mariani said one gibbon escaped as Perhilitan officers tried to confiscate it. 

Perhilitan officers left the centre at around 6.30pm after confiscating four gibbons. The raid lasted for about 10 hours.

According to Mariani, they will return to the centre tomorrow to confiscate two more gibbons.  

Perhilitan within its legal right

Mariani’s lawyer Jessica Binwani explained to Malaysiakini that her client had taken Perhilitan to court over a claim of unfair dismissal back in 2016.

The former Perhilitan ranger had challenged both her termination as well as Perhilitan’s order for her to return six gibbons which had been placed under her care while she was employed under the department.

Mariani won the case in the High Court but the judgment was set aside by the Court of Appeal on Nov 15.

Jessica said they have since filed an application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court. They have yet to apply for a stay on the Court of Appeal decision but have informed the court of their intention to do so.

“In our opinion, the status quo should remain. Let the formal application be filed, let it be heard. Everybody knows that we are going to file the application for a stay and the Court of Appeal had ordered us to do so.

“Why the rush to take the gibbons now? Why the rush to move them from a place where they are already safe and sound and well taken care of when things are still proceeding in court?” Jessica questioned.

With the stay not yet filed or granted, she admitted that Perhilitan did have the right to confiscate the gibbons.

“But this is not a question of taking goods from a factory or taking over a building. These gibbons are the most endangered primate species in the world,” she said.

When contacted for comment, Perhilitan Peninsular Malaysia director-general Abu Kadir Abu Hashim said the department was within its powers to conduct the raid.

“This is the Court of Appeal’s decision. The gibbons must be surrendered to Perhilitan,” he said.

Abu Kadir claimed to have no knowledge of Mariani’s leave application.

“As of now, we have no instructions on that matter,” he answered.

Perhilitan enforcement director Pazil Abdul Patah also said his officers were acting in accordance with the Court of Appeal order.

He clarified that the six gibbons they wanted to confiscate belonged to the department as they were rescued by Mariani while she worked for them.

“Perhilitan will also rehabilitate the gibbons. We have the expertise to do so,” Pazil said when asked if the raid will disrupt the rehabilitation process.

Based on court papers Malaysiakini sighted, Mariani’s application for leave to appeal the Court of Appeal decision was filed through the court’s e-filing system on Dec 14.

Aside from Perhilitan, a copy of the application was extended to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

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