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By Himanshu Bhatt. PARTICIPANTS at a recent forum on local governments in Penang expecting a drab affair were taken aback when the gathering saw an open verbal confrontation over the controversial bird nests industry. Residents’ representatives, heritage conservationists and wildlife lovers engaged in an impassioned altercation with industry proponents over the issue of practising the business in urban areas.
Indeed, the industry has for many people been deemed a nuisance since it began burgeoning a few years back. Literally hundreds of operators have mushroomed in towns and cities across the country, using existing buildings to attract swiftlets to nest inside.
And it is said to have come with great social costs. Not only do the birds leave their dung all over the place; but the use of speakers with loud tweeting sounds to draw the swiftlets have left neighbours restless and frustrated. Sandwiched in the middle of this tussle is the Veterinary Department which has been entrusted by the federal government to monitor and ensure that operators adhere to various guidelines including on cleanliness and hygiene. But the department’s responsibility does not seem to be completely neutral. For the federal government is committed to accommodate those farming bird nests. Government agencies have been given the directive to help the industry as it has been listed as a priority under the National Key Results Area (NKRA). "Whether you like it or not the swiftlet industry is here to stay," a department official said emphatically. Indeed, the pressure from the industry has been intense. It is expected to bring about RM1.4 billion in annual revenue by 2020, and so in March last year, it was identified as a new growth area by the federal government. Even the Penang government made a surprise decision late last year to extend its moratorium for operators, allowing them to continue in residential areas until end of 2010. But for residents and many NGOs, the issue should not just be about the over-arching benefits of economic returns. It is about the basic principle of farming in urban areas. Many bird-nest operators are plying their trade in heritage buildings even though the Municipal Council of Penang Island forbids bird nesting in places gazetted as heritage structures or zones. And many of the operators do not even have valid permits to engage in such activities from the local authorities. Industry operators maintain that the birds have always been in certain towns and cities, just like pigeons and crows. But the fact remains that the activities are man-made initiatives that induce the birds to proliferate unnaturally with the intention to reap commercial benefits. If such bird farming is allowed in an urban or heritage area, what next? If someone opts to rear chickens, goats or pigs, would that also be allowed? The swiftlet industry was promoted by the previous state government in 2005. And it has now boomed in a way that local authorities are struggling to control. The Seberang Perai Municipal Council, for example, is in a bind as numerous illegal buildings, some as high as four or five storeys, have sprouted in rural areas, including in villages and farms, to house bird nests. Added to that is a contention that local stakeholders such as heritage groups, the state government and residents likely to be affected by the breeding of swiftlets in their neighbourhoods, were not consulted during the formulation of federal guidelines for the industry. And instead, the Association of Swiftlet Nests Industry was consulted. Its representatives have been put in the technical committees to approve applications (for bird-nest farming), raising questions of conflict of interest. For many people, swiftlet farming, by its very definition is incompatible with the urban environment. And the key to the problem may be with the state governments. For the state authorities have the final prerogative to adopt whatever portions of the federal guidelines that are appropriate to the unique circumstances of the states. And until this matter is resolved by the governments, there does not seem be any chance for the battle over bird-nest farming to simmer down even a bit. ** Republished with permission. This article first appeared in the August 12, 2010, issue of theSun. Himanshu is the theSun's bureau chief.
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