KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Donations to a Malaysian orangutan conservation programme will be eligible for tax relief, including funds that come from palm oil industry players, the overseeing foundation said today.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation said the tax relief would be per the Income Tax Act 1967, although the amount of relief was not specified.
The initiative overseeing the orangutan conservation programme is led by the Plantation and Commodities Ministry.
Orangutans are critically endangered, with conservation group WWF estimating the population of the primates at less than 105,000 on the island of Borneo.
The foundation will use donations to preserve and conserve orangutans, including by establishing expert teams to monitor the endangered animals.
"Funds can also be used for the planting of forest trees and fruits that are a source of food for orangutans," said the foundation's general manager Hairulazim Mahmud in a statement.
On Sunday (August 18), Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said companies that import palm oil from Malaysia would be able to adopt orangutans, but that the primates would not permitted to leave the country.
— Reuters
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A female Bornean orangutan carries her offspring at a rehabilitation centre in Sepilok, Sabah, on August 17, 2024. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
