Malayan plan
The Malayan plan to save its last 150 wild tigers already exists. What’s missing is the one thing no paper can provide: unwavering national will. Nepal doubled its tiger population when its prime minister chaired the conservation committee personally. India holds 70 percent of the world’s tigers because Project Tiger was backed by central authority, resources, and enforcement. Malaysia has words, not yet action.
The National Tiger Conservation Task Force, chaired by the prime minister, looks promising. But promises don’t stop poachers. Promises don’t end snares. Success depends on mobilising funds, incentivising states to protect forests, restoring prey species like sambar deer, and creating exclusive space for tigers. Without it, decline continues.
Commercial poaching and snaring still devastate prey bases, leaving tigers without food. Enforcement remains weak, penalties light. If the Malayan plan is to mean survival, political will must be real, urgent, and uncompromising. Without it, “150” will soon be a memory, not a milestone.
