Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Malaysia Programme country director Mark Rayan Darmaraj has refuted claims by Kelantan Forestry Department director Abdul Khalim Abu Samah that deforested areas are good for tigers.

Mark is the lead author of a 2009 research paper on the importance of selectively logged forests for tiger conservation, which had been used to support Khalim’s statement in news reports.

“We need to contextualise what is meant by...