IPOH, 18 Dis - Di sebalik kehijauan hutan simpan seluas 988,412.84 hektar di Perak, ada konflik lama yang tiada kesudahan - konflik antara manusia dan gajah yang sekian lama menjadi penjaga senyap rimba, dan di Hulu Perak khususnya, pertembungan itu bukan lagi insiden terpencil tetapi bagaikan sudah menjadi rutin. Dilaporkan dari 2020 hingga 2024, sebanyak 4,919 aduan konflik gajah-manusia direkodkan di Malaysia, melibatkan kerugian RM39.4 juta dengan Perak sahaja mencatat dua kematian dan tiga kecederaan. Di sebalik angka itu, terselit kisah kehilangan - nyawa manusia yang terkorban dan nyawa gajah yang tidak pernah diberi pilihan. Di pedalaman Gerik terutamanya, kehadiran gajah di jalan raya, ladang dan halaman rumah bukan lagi sesuatu yang menghairankan. Gajah melintasi Jalan Raya Timur-Barat (JRTB), meranapkan tanaman dan menghampiri kediaman, seolah-olah mencari semula ruang yang semakin dirampas. Menurut laporan media pada Ogos 2023, seorang wanita Orang Asli maut dipijak gajah di Kemar, Gerik, manakala September tahun lepas pula seorang pekerja pembersihan kontrak maut dan seorang lagi cedera diserang haiwan itu di Mersing. Setiap kejadian meninggalkan persoalan, siapakah sebenarnya yang tersesat dari wilayah asal? Paling tidak dilupakan, peristiwa pada pagi hening 11 Mei tahun ini di JRTB Gerik-Jeli yang meruntun emosi seluruh rakyat negara ini apabila seekor ibu gajah enggan berganjak dari sisi anaknya yang mati dilanggar lori. Insiden itu seolah simbol kegagalan manusia mencari titik seimbang antara pembangunan dan kelestarian, ia bukan sekadar kemalangan jalan raya tetapi gambaran konflik yang belum berpenghujung. Tersepit antara pembangunan dan hak haiwan liar itu untuk terus menghuni habitatnya, ternyata mengurus mamalia terbesar ini bukan satu tugas mudah dan menuntut ketelitian agar tiada pihak yang tersakiti. Gajah di Malaysia dilindungi sepenuhnya di bawah Akta Pemuliharaan Hidupan Liar 2010. Melalui Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara (Perhilitan) pelbagai usaha digerakkan, termasuk operasi translokasi, pemasangan pagar elektrik di lokasi panas, rondaan dilaluan kritikal, program kesedaran awam serta mewujudkan Kawasan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar. Insiden terbaru pada 14 Dis lepas di Rancangan Penempatan Semula Air Banun, Gerik, apabila seorang lelaki Orang Asli cedera selepas ditarik gajah ke dalam gaung, sekali lagi membuktikan bahawa konflik ini belum menemui noktah. Setiap langkah gajah kini ibarat perjudian antara hidup dan mati, bukan sahaja untuk manusia tetapi juga untuk haiwan itu sendiri. Persoalannya, sejauh mana usaha pemuliharaan benar-benar mengambil kira realiti ekologi? Apabila hutan diratah sedikit demi sedikit, koridor hidupan liar terputus, dan pembangunan terus mara tanpa empati, gajah tidak mempunyai pilihan selain bergerak ke ruang manusia. Selagi empati hanya lahir seketika di skrin telefon, dan lenyap sebaik emosi reda, konflik ini akan terus berulang, dan - Sang Gergasi Rimba - kini menjadi utusan paling jelas bahawa keseimbangan sedang runtuh. Mungkin sudah tiba masanya kita berhenti sejenak, mendengar degup rimba, menilai kesan setiap keputusan, dan mengakui bahawa khazanah alam bukan warisan untuk dieksploitasi tetapi amanah untuk dipelihara. Jika tidak, suatu hari nanti - sang belalai - mungkin hanya tinggal sebagai kenangan dalam lipatan sejarah dan kita pula kehilangan sebahagian daripada jiwa alam yang pernah melindungi kita. - fotoBERNAMA (2025) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA

IPOH, Dec 18 - Behind the lush greenery of Perak - s permanent forest reserves spanning 988,412.84 hectares lies a long-standing, unresolved conflict - ¬ the conflict between humans and elephants. Long regarded as the silent guardians of the rainforest, these majestic animals now find themselves increasingly at odds with human expansion. In Hulu Perak in particular, such encounters are no longer isolated incidents but have become almost routine. Between 2020 and 2024, a total of 4,919 human-elephant conflict complaints were recorded nationwide, resulting in losses amounting to RM39.4 million. Perak alone reported two fatalities and three injuries. Beyond these figures lie stories of loss - ¬ human lives cut short and elephant lives taken without ever being given a choice. In the interior of Gerik especially, the sight of elephants on roads, plantations, and even near homes is no longer surprising. Elephants crossing the East - ¬œWest Highway, destroying crops, and approaching residential areas appear to be reclaiming spaces that have steadily been taken from them. According to media reports in August 2023, an Orang Asli woman was trampled to death by an elephant in Kemar, Gerik. In September last year, a contracted cleaning worker was killed and another injured in an elephant attack in Mersing. Each incident raises the same haunting question: who is truly the one that has strayed from their original territory? Most unforgettable was the heart-wrenching incident on the quiet morning of May 11 this year along the Gerik - ¬œJeli stretch of the East - ¬œWest Highway, which moved the entire nation. A mother elephant refused to leave the side of her calf after it was fatally struck by a lorry. The incident became a powerful symbol of humanity - s failure to strike a balance between development and conservation - ¬ not merely a road accident, but a stark reflection of an ongoing conflict with no end in sight. Caught between development and the right of wildlife to continue inhabiting their natural habitats, managing the country - s largest land mammal is undeniably complex and demands careful consideration so that no party is harmed. In Malaysia, elephants are fully protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010. Through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), various efforts have been implemented, including translocation operations, the installation of electric fencing at conflict hotspots, patrols along critical routes, public awareness programmes, and the establishment of Wildlife Protection Areas. The latest incident on Dec 14 at the Air Banun Resettlement Scheme in Gerik, where an Orang Asli man was injured after being dragged into a ravine by an elephant, once again proves that this conflict has yet to reach its conclusion. Every step taken by an elephant now resembles a gamble between life and death - ¬ not only for humans, but for the animals themselves. The question remains: to what extent do conservation efforts truly account for ecological realities? As forests are gradually fragmented, wildlife corridors severed, and development continues to advance without empathy, elephants are left with no choice but to move into human spaces. As long as empathy exists only momentarily on phone screens and fades once emotions subside, this conflict will persist. The - Giants of the Forest - have now become the clearest messengers that balance is collapsing. Perhaps it is time we pause, listen to the heartbeat of the forest, reflect on the consequences of every decision, and acknowledge that natural heritage is not a legacy to be exploited, but a trust to be protected. Otherwise, one day, the mighty tusked giants may exist only as memories in the pages of history - ¬ and we will have lost a part of nature - s soul that once sheltered us. - fotoBERNAMA (2025) COPYRIGHT RESERVED

photographed by: ZULFADHLI ZULKARNAIN