Malaysian police seize smuggled turtle eggs

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Malaysian authorities have said they had seized 2,900 turtles eggs and detained a Filipino who tried to sell them in a market on the island of Borneo, where they are considered a delicacy.

Saizal Hussin, an official with the marine police unit in Sandakan, in Borneo's eastern Sabah state, told AFP the eggs worth around 5,200 ringgit (almost 1,500 dollars) were smuggled from the southern Philippines.

Police arrested the man and intercepted two boats believed to be involved in the smuggling operation on Tuesday, Saizal said.

He said that officials expected such smuggling operations to increase in the coming months, with the egg-laying season stretching from June until September.

"We expect more smugglers to enter Malaysia to sell turtle eggs as they fetch higher prices here amid strong demand," he said.

Saizal said the turtle eggs had been handed to the wildlife department who may release any hatchlings that survive back into the sea.

In April environmental group WWF launched a campaign to stop Malaysians eating turtle eggs, in a bid to help save stocks of the marine creatures.

Turtle eggs are openly sold in markets in parts of Malaysia. Turtles once arrived in their thousands to lay their eggs on Malaysian beaches, but are now increasingly rare due to poaching and coastal development.

Under Malaysian law, it is illegal to collect turtle eggs without a permit from the fisheries department, but steady demand for turtle products and eggs in Southeast Asia continues to drive the trade.

Turtle's Tan Line?

Taken from Turtles and Tortugas!

Meeting 6

Venue: Sakura Restaurant

Discussion
1) Final collection of passport copies, medical declaration and international forms

2) Logistics check
- Individual packing list
- Team packing list

3) Post-Event and R&R brief

4) AOB
- Sponsorship updates by Co-Leader
- Treasury to-do-list

5) Final project brief by Team Leader

Busy shopping for books

After we completed the Project GREASE workshop in RGS, some of us headed to Bras Basah Complex to buy some logistics for the kids at Terrenganu!

Getting flashcards...

many things to learn!!

Sijie and Nicholas

Things on our shopping list include educational posters, flashcards, English storybooks, stationary and many more!

I think we are going to have a lot of fun with the villagers both adult and young ones alike!!

Can't wait for the day to come to interact with the kids and teach them read! That would be an accomplishment for the team!

Signed off,
May Lwin

2nd Pre-Event at Raffles Girls' School

It was a cloudy Saturday morning where we Project Orion Rovers went for our second pre-event at Raffles Girls School. Our main objective was to learn how to reuse used cooking oil into making soap. And by learning this, we hope we can introduce it to those in the village at Setiu and use this opportunity to generate more revenue. The workshop, which is called Project Grease, was facilitated by Secondary 3 girls from Raffles. Here are some of the photos taken from the event this morning.Our demonstrator, Brenda

Materials needed. That was cooking oil by the way, not tea~

Sodium Hydroxide

Pour into the water.

Temperature risinggg~Concentrating on stirring the solvent.

And we kept stirring....

and stirring...

waiting for the oil to hit the same temperature as the solvent...preparing for the next step!

pour the solvent into the cooking oil!

list of fragrances to add in the mixture

tada~ waiting for the mixture to mould

packing the team's soaps for our trip!

Project Orion with Mrs Lee, Mentor of the Project Grease and a group of students from RGS!

From starting to end, we had great fun as we were learning something not taught from our textbooks. All in all it was a fruitful event and we really hope to make full use of the opportunity to share this with the people in Setiu.

Signed off,

Ashok

Secretary

Captions by: May Lwin

Fillmore the Sea Turtle - Sherman's Lagoon

Fillmore
Sherman's pensive sidekick provides the anchor of sensibility to an otherwise eccentric cast. Not that Fillmore is a normal, well adjusted sea turtle; far from it. He's bookish and slightly pompous, however he's sensitive and principled, and right most of the time. He likes to wax philosophical and longs for an intellectual soul mate, preferably a she-turtle. Though at times he finds it unbearable to keep company with a shark who eats the gum off the bottom of theater seats, Fillmore secretly envies Sherman's complete lack of self-awareness.

Taken from Sherman's Lagoon.

Mr. Ricky Sim, Honorary Secretary, Scout Council

Project Orion Sponsor

Mr Ricky Sim is the Managing Director of Chesterton Suntec International Pte Ltd and Chief Operating Officer of Suntec Investment Group of Companies.

He is a nature lover and strongly feels that it is everyone’s responsibility to care for and protect the world we all live, work and play in. He is hopeful that as the world becomes increasingly concerned over the effects of climate change, more will come forward to play their part in nature conservation and shaping the long term future of our biodiversity.

The world’s turtles are disappearing as a result of habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, collection for food and folk remedies and collection for the pet trade. The dwindling population of sea turtles will cause the commercial value of its meat, shell and eggs to rise even further, thereby creating a viscous cycle. Hence, Ricky is keen to personally contribute to the worthy cause of Project Orion - Rovering with Turtles project.

Apart from playing an active role in the Singapore Scout’s Association as its Honorary Secretary, Ricky Sim is also contributing his time and effort in the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM), the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA), Social Innovation Park (SIP) and the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) to name a few.

Tan Chin Tuan Foundation

Project Orion Sponsor

“I get a lot of satisfaction helping people. If you do things for people, these deeds they will not forget.”
– Tan Sri (Dr) Tan Chin Tuan

The Tan Chin Tuan Foundation in Singapore was set up in 1976 by the late Tan Sri (Dr) Tan Chin Tuan to help the poor and needy. Tan Sri Tan, a staunch supporter for education and a great philanthropist, was Singapore’s first and only Deputy President of the Legislative Council and Chairman and subsequently Honorary Life President of several blue-chip companies including OCBC Bank.

Among his many philosophies in life, Tan Sri Tan believed very much in leading a happy and purposeful life, and in sharing this happiness with the less fortunate. This became a basis from which the Foundation conducts its activities, seeing to it that gifts of money are wisely allocated to the deserving, and that there is social outcome to the donation given.

Tan Sri Tan was born in 1908 and passed away in 2005, at the age of 97.

Chesterton Suntec International Pte Ltd

Project Orion Sponsor

Chesterton Suntec International Pte Ltd is a leading provider of integrated real estate services in Singapore and in Asia with more than 200 years of history.

Founded in the United Kingdom in 1805, the Chesterton Brand has grown into a global real estate consultancy with more than 100 associated and alliance offices worldwide to provide a full range of expert localized real estate related services.

Chesterton Suntec is a client-focused company committed to help clients realize their real estate objectives by providing the following services:

· Leasing and Sale of commercial, retail, residential and industrial properties
· Valuation & Appraisal of properties, businesses and equipment
· Investment & Research Consultancy
· Property, Assets & Facilities Management
· Energy Audit & Management
· Middle East Cross Border Investments/Islamic Finance
· Project Management & Security Consultancy

Their objective is to provide their clients with innovative and comprehensive solutions; and they aim to be your preferred choice in all their client’s real estate needs.

Chesterton Suntec is a strong believer in corporate social responsibility and has been a regular sponsor and supporter for many years to the Singapore Scouts Association, Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM), Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), Social Innovation Park (SIP) and the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) to name a few.

Citra Ria Gemilang Sdn. Bhd.

Project Orion Affiliated Partner

Citra Ria Gemilang Sdn. Bhd. (CRG) was founded by a group of visionary entrepreneurs with over 20 years of experience in corporate gifts distributions, corporate event management and public relations multimedia promotion.

Accompanied by a strong team of marketing force and backed by a professional production team, they strive to fulfill the teams of their valued customers. If uncertainties occur from the customer regarding the choices of premium to choose from, the sales team will provide ideas to assist them in determining the best choice of products.

CRG also provides clients with very unique and highly successful promotional programmes and event services.

Creative, effective and efficient

Refined and renowned name for corporate merchandise

Gracious event management and multimedia promotion

Zonice Rovers

Project Orion Affiliated Partner

Zonice Rovers (ZR) are essentially, a gathering of a very passionate and driven 'Scouts' with the love for outdoor adventures cultivated from the old days of learned scouting activities. Zonice Rovers is a registered Rover Crew with the Scouts Association of Malaysia (Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia/PPM.

They aim to:

• Provide a training centre to facilitate youth development and social integration;
• Unite fellow scouts and friends regardless of race, age and gender;
• Share their knowledge and resources for the benefit of their youths and society;
• Work together so that everyone can progress;
• Develop further their scouting passions into a substantial profession, and
• Enjoy the rewards and achievements together.
  

Meeting 5

Venue: Vivo City

1) Recee Trip Updates

- Questions from previous meeting answered

2) Operations Update

- Programme for Project Orion

- English Introductory Sessions

- Mangrove Replanting

- Post-Event Updates

- R&R Updates

3) Logistics Update

- Additions to team and personal packing list

- Stuff to buy for lessons and WWF Info Centre

- Stuff to buy for beach patrol and mangrove replanting

4) Sponsorship Updates

5) AOB

- Bicycles or car?

- The merchandise and transport discussion

- Liaisons with WWF and Malaysian Scouts

Associate Professor Diong Cheong Hoong

Project Orion Supporter

Dr. Diong Cheong Hoong, from National Institute of Education, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Science Education, is a leading sea turtle researcher in Singapore. Dr. Diong received his BSci (Hons) degree from the University of Malaya, before moving on to obtain his MSci and PhD degrees from the University of Hawaii.

Dr. Diong’s professional affiliations include the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, The Wildlife Society, The Herpetologist League, International Sea Turtle Society and the Institute of Biology, Singapore. Dr. Diong was the Chairman for Year of Turtle (YoT) Singapore in 2006 and a Scientific Observer for the 16th IBO held in Peking University, Beijing in 2005, amongst many others.

Apart from his interests in environmental science education and vertebrate ecology, Dr. Diong also has an immense interest in sea turtle nesting ecology and conservation. He showed his support for the project by taking time off from his busy schedule on a weekend to present his research and chat with the team during our pre-event visit to UWS.

National Youth Council - Youth Expedition Project

The National Youth Council aims to develop a vibrant, highly-connected and self-sustaining youth sector so as to nurture World-Ready Youth.

The Youth Expedition Project (YEP) has been a success since its inception in 2000, enabling over 9,000 youths to participate in about 400 community projects overseas. In early 2005, after the tsunami disaster, YEP also supported about 600 youths, spread over 50 teams, to assist in the rebuilding efforts in affected countries.

By participating in overseas projects, our youths gain a better appreciation of their life in Singapore and an increased social consciousness.

After the consultation with various stakeholders, the future direction for YEP is to encourage youths to see YEP not as a one-off project overseas, but a sustained activity with contributions to the Singapore community. More ground-up initiatives from youth and for the youth sector are encouraged and NYC will support a network of partners to share expertise and experience.

Project Orion - Rovering with Turtles

All About Orion!

The 2nd Scouts of the World Award Voluntary Service of the SWA Singapore Base. The first was Project Sirius - Rovering with Rhinos in 2007.

Project Orion will be held in Setiu, Terengganu, Malaysia from 20th June to 5th July 2009. With a main focus on turtle conservation, the team will be doing beach patrolling for turtle nestings, repairing and painting of the turtle watching hut and information and awareness centre in Setiu, beach clean-up, and mangrove replanting. Conservation is however never successful without the human aspect, which plays a major role, hence the team will also be interacting with the nearby villagers, providing English lessons and awareness education for both adults and kids, provision of stationaries and books, assist the local women in the cottage industry for revenue generation, and of course not forgetting fun and games with them!

The Name!

Orion is a prominent constellation, often referred to as "The Hunter". It is one of the largest, most conspicuous, and most recognizable in the night sky. Its name refers to Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. Orion's brilliant stars are found on the celestial equator and are visible throughout the world. It was all these factors that we hope this project will be, and thus Project Orion was named!
The project also makes specific reference to the prominent asterism, Orion's belt, which is made up of three bright stars, signifying the three species of turtles involved - the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), the Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and the Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea).

Signed off,
Sijie
Project Advisor

Photos taken from:
http://www.malaysia-hotels.net/images/pic-terengganu.jpg, http://www.beartoothnbc.com/ktvh/images/Orion_000.jpg , http://www.geocities.com/abaastronomers/imgs/orion.gif, http://www.yoto98.noaa.gov/books/turtles/hawksbill.jpg, http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/images/olc/olive_ridley_leonard.jpg, http://www.seaturtlenet.com/Images/GreenSea/GreenTurtle15.jpg , http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/freshwater_main/freshwater_conserving_freshwater_habitats/projects_sustainable_management_of_setiu_wetlands/setiu_issues/