GEORGE TOWN: The Penang state government is drawing up recommendations to regulate the multi-billion ringgit swiftlet farming industry, while a storm is brewing between heritage activists and industry players.

State local government committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the state’s stand on the matter will be presented at the upcoming National Council for Local Government which will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at end-August.

The Agriculture Ministry recently published its 1 Guide Line (1GP) aimed at providing a clear understanding on how to deal with the bird houses. Swiftlet farming revolves around the collection of the birds’ nests, which are highly valued in Chinese cuisine, fetching between US$2,000 (RM6,360) to US$10,000 per kg.

Among other things, the guidelines cover the location of bird houses, licensing, bird handling requirements and specifications for playing bird sounds.

“After obtaining a copy of the guidelines formulated at the federal level, we feel there is still some confusion and we will want to study it further,” Chow told The Edge Financial Daily last week.

“Since these are only guidelines, the state can make its own adjustments.

“We are also looking at the old guidelines which fell under the purview of the Town and Country Planning Department, and now the new guidelines under the Veterinary Department, which is now the lead agency for swiftlet farming,” Chow said.

Chow said the approaches of the departments were like chalk and cheese.

“The Veterinary Department is only looking at the business from its high value and the guidelines are basically to encourage the industry to grow,” he added.

Among the issues still unclear under the new guidelines is that swiftlet houses are not allowed in urban areas, except that existing outlets in such areas are allowed to continue operations.

“Within George Town itself, there are hundreds of swiftlets outlets in the heritage area,” he said.

The state government imposed a deadline in 2008 for swiftlet breeders to be regulated but the deadline was extended to the end of this year.

Among those who are up in arms with the swiftlet operators are the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT).

Rebecca Ducket of the PHT, who owns a property within the heritage zone, said her art gallery has been affected by the operations of the swiftlet breeders.

She expressed concern that the swiftlet breeders were changing the face of Penang’s heritage zone, which could affect Penang’s listing as a Unesco World Heritage site.

“We were all told that they would move, which was why I bought the property in 2008,” said Ducket.

“I know we cannot shut them down overnight as we will still have the problem of the birds, but this has turned out to be a nightmare for many property owners.

While it was reported that there are 291 registered swiftlet outlets in the heritage core area, Ducket said unregistered operators number between 400 to 1,000.

“I am against urban farms and in a way. They should have moved out by 2008, but they stood their ground and opened up more locations thinking the authorities could not move them,” she said.

“Now, they have missed the boat and never came up with any contingency plans,” said Ducket.

She said five years ago, their numbers were small, but now there were just way too many.

“It is invalid to say no one complained before as we have been complaining all this while. Public health is also a main issue as all birds are susceptible to many diseases,” she added.

Environmentally, Ducket said the birds would also cause a much bigger catastrophe which could affect farmers in future.

“These birds feed selectively only on membraned insects which are the most important insects for pollination of flowers. The fruit farmers in the Balik Pulau district in Penang would feel the effect of this in two to three years,” she said.

There are more than 50,000 swiftlet houses in Malaysia now and the numbers are growing rapidly each year, she said.

Carole Loh, the president of the Association of the Swiftlet Nests Industry (ASNI) rubbished the claims made by heritage enthusiasts.

“Their argument is that we would lose the heritage status but when Penang was awarded the status, the birds were already there.

“The swiftlets have been around for more than 100 years and there is one house where the swiftlets have been bred for over 40 years,” she added.

Loh said when the Unesco officials came to visit Penang before George Town was declared a heritage area, they knew of the existence of the swiftlet outlets.

“We were still awarded the status and there were no conditions attached to it. If it was not an issue then, why is it an issue now?

“Swiftlets are a living heritage as they have been there for so long,” she added.

Loh said the association would ensure that the facades and interiors of the bird houses in George Town were in harmony with the surroundings.

“We are willing to work with state government to maintain the facades, and follow state guidelines.

“They are also complaining about the noise pollution caused by the recordings but we will also advise the operators to abide by the guidelines, failing which, we would encourage the authorities to act against the bad apples.

“We want this to be a well-regulated and well-managed industry,” Loh added.

She also discounted the various health concerns raised about the industry.

“Over the last 10 years, from 5,000 randomly tested samples, no pathogenic materials were found to show that the swiftlets were health hazards.

“There are some fungal diseases spread by pigeons. The authorities have to determine which birds spread diseases. No outbreak over the past 10 years have been attributed to the swiftlets,” said Loh.

A survey done in December 2001 showed that there were about 1,000 buildings/houses cultivating edible bird nests in Malaysia, producing some 10 tonnes per year (cultivated white bird nest/house nest), compared with the world demand of about 200 tonnes per year.

By 2009, the number of bird houses had risen dramatically, with an estimated 50,000 birds’ nests producing houses in the country. This figure continues to rise.

These statistics were cited in an article about swiftlet farming written by Professor Lee Ting Hun of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Professor Ramlan Abd Aziz, Director of the Chemical Engineering Pilot Plant (CEPP) of UTM, and Eddie Tan Ti Tjih of Universiti Teknologi Mara.

Among the concerns raised included human safety when setting up the bird houses, which they say has been taken for granted.

The report stated that although surveillance tests conducted by the Department of Veterinary Services since 2000 have shown negative results for Newcastle Disease, Avian Influenza or Bird Flu H5N1, it did not mean that the chances of getting these viruses does not exist.

They also questioned why bird houses converted from shop houses with a restaurant downstairs were allowed while other forms of farming were restricted elsewhere.

The only guidelines published by a government agency have discussed the noise pollution from the farms and the unsightly appearance of the bird houses, the report added.

The authors also called for the inclusion of the Health Ministry in the committee set up to regulate the industry, which now includes representation from the National Heritage Department, Veterinary Department, Town and Country Planning Department and from Bird Nest Commerce Association and local authorities.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, August 17, 2010.