Need to ensure safety in swiftlet industry

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Lucrative business: A structure use for swiftlet farming in the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu.

KOTA KINABALU: Swiftlet farming is a lucrative industry but steps must be taken to ensure it does not have a negative impact on the environment and the people. Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Peter Pang En Yin said there was a need to make sure the activity was carried out in specific areas. “We have to bear in mind that local authorities do not allow swiftlet farming at shoplots or commercial lots in townships and urban areas as these properties are gazetted for residential, commercial, industrial and tourism purposes. “They are not zoned for swiftlet farming so I advise those in the industry to wait for the endorsement of the Swiftlet Industry Guidelines (SIG) by the Federal Cabinet,” said Pang, who is also the State Youth and Sports Minister.

With SIG, local authorities could determine the zones allowed for swiflet farming and those involved in the industry would have a set of regulations to adhere to, he added. Sabah Swiftlet House and Bird’s Nest Industry Association president George Ng had said that the SIG, reported to have the full support of the health, agriculture and agro-based industries and the Housing and Local Government Ministry, was supposed to be tabled at the Federal Cabinet meeting at the end of last month but was delayed. If accepted, it would give the industry the much-needed framework to operate in a sustainable manner and put Malaysia ahead of leading bird’s nest