KUCHING: The local community should be allowed to venture into crocodile skin and meat industry as one of the approaches to control the population of the reptile in Sarawak.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, said this must be carried out with control and guidance from the authorities, so that the community could participate in this industry that grossed billions of ringgit in profits globally.

"Is there any legislation and a system related to the control of crocodiles in enabling it to be traded by local residents to provide returns to the local community as required by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)," he said in a statement today.

He was responding to the two recent attacks involving a five-year-old boy in Kampung Nyabut, Telaga Air, Kuching last Saturday and a 56-year-old man in Sungai Ahong, Kampung Kangka, Lundu, last Thursday.

Wan Junaidi who previously held the post of Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said he succeeded in removing Sarawak from Schedule One to Two of CITES during a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2016, following concerns over the overpopulated crocodiles in the state.

Wan Junaidi, who is also a Santubong Member of Parliament (MP) added that with Sarawak in Schedule Two, the authorities can catch and kill crocodiles periodically and systematically to reduce their numbers without causing extinction.

Despite in Schedule Two, he said the reptile population was still out of control until attacks took place not only in rural areas but also in urban areas.

"With a large number of crocodiles, it is certain that as long as there are drainage systems, rivers, and estuaries, there would be crocodiles preying," he explained.

Following that, he urged relevant government agencies should implement proactive and holistic measures so that the attacks do not recur.

"I want the authorities to take appropriate action to ensure the reptile does not disrupt the lives of the people of Sarawak," he said.

Wan Junaidi also expressed sympathy to the families of the two victims.

-- BERNAMA