Malaysia orang utan programme says donations eligible for tax relief

KUALA LUMPUR — Donations to a Malaysian orang utan conservation programme will be eligible for tax relief, including on funds that come from palm oil industry players, the overseeing foundation said on Aug 21.

The tax relief would be in accordance with the income tax act, the Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation said in a statement, although the amount of relief was not specified.

The initiative overseeing the orang utan 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 orang utans, 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 orang utans," the foundation's general manager Hairulazim Mahmud said.

On Aug 18, the commodities minister said companies that import palm oil from Malaysia would be able to adopt orang utans but the primates would not be able to leave the country.

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