Between 2011 and 2013 over 100,000 elephants were slaughtered, mostly throughout Africa.
Malaysian-based illegal wildlife traffickers can account for at least 1,000 of these once magnificent animals. The real figure is likely to be many times higher.
Elephants are being slaughtered on an industrial scale to make trinkets and ornaments mostly for the ignorant and greedy in China.
Compounding matters is the secrecy surrounding the 2,000 or more confiscated elephant tusks Perhilitan and the NRE (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) have stashed away somewhere.
These government officials have done nothing to disprove rumours that some of the ivory while in government custody, has been sold off or given away to powerful people.
As far as we know, no member of the public or NGO has seen this ivory.
It has never been independently audited. No one has ever been arrested.
Calls for the ivory to be destroyed in public have met with silence, only adding to the suspicion of government complicity in this evil trade in ivory.
A few greedy, secretive, selfish people in the employment of the Malaysian government are, by not coming clean about this ivory, bringing more and more shame on their country.
Chances are, if you follow wildlife news from Malaysia you will know or be able to guess the names of these officials. They’ll be the same ones who let Anson Wong walk free.
Sean Whyte is CEO of Nature Alert