There are also good and bad apples in NGOs
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| WORLD WILDLIFE FUND (WWF) SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 KRISHNAMANOH The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded on April 26 1961, and is working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. It is the world’s largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300 conservation and environmental projects. WWF is a foundation. The group’s mission is “to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.” Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world’s biodiversity: oceans and coasts, forests, and freshwater ecosystems. Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, pollution and climate change … for more, go to https://get123web.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/world-wildlife-fund-wwf/ |
There are also good and bad apples in NGOs
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia, founded in 1961, has been hit by alleged sexual harassment charges.
With more victims emerging to make similar allegations against WWF-Malaysia, the credibility and integrity of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) have been jolted.
“This shows there are good and bad apples in any organisation. The lesson to learn from such damning allegations is that administrations must never ignore allegations of wrongdoings,” Gerakan Deputy Speaker Syed Abdul Razak Alsagoff said.
He said such NGOs survive on financial support from the public, private and government sectors.
“If they cannot even keep their house in order, why should anyone or organisation even continue to support such an NGO?” he asked.
Syed Razak said any NGO or organisation must uphold the rule or righteousness.
“When a negative allegation arises in an NGO or organisation, it must not be taken lightly. It must act to unravel the truth and take immediate and appropriate action,” he added.
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GLOBAL TIGER DAY
THE WORLD
CELEBRATES GLOBAL TIGER DAY
Global Tiger Day is celebrated every year on July 29th as a way to raise awareness about this magnificent but endangered big cat. The day was founded in 2010, when the 13 tiger range countries came together to create Tx2 – the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022. 2016 marks the halfway point of this ambitious goal and this year has been one of the most united and exciting Global Tiger Days yet. WWF offices, organisations, celebrities, government officials, families, friends and individuals around the world came together in support of the #ThumbsUpForTigers campaign – showing the tiger range countries that there is worldwide support for tiger conservation efforts and the Tx2 goal. Take a look through the countries below for some of the Global Tiger Day highlights around the world … for more, go to http://tigers.panda.org/news/global-tiger-day-2016/
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“Any delay in action will be fodder for scandalous exposes. Act fast and public confidence in the NGO or organisation will remain intact, if not raised,” he added.
Here’s what was reported as posted by online news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT):
"More victims allege sexual harassment at NGO
Sean Augustin
| March 4, 2018
Former WWF-Malaysia employees recount alleged experiences with ex-supervisor, with one saying that her reports to the HR department seemed to be in vain.
The women claim that since the ex-supervisor was only dealt with behind closed doors, he kept repeating his antics.
PETALING JAYA: More sexual harassment claims have surfaced against a former World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia senior worker, days after the environmental NGO promised to look into the matter.
On Thursday, FMT reported a former WWF-Malaysia staff alleging that her then-supervisor had made remarks about her body and suggested that they share a room when attending a workshop overseas.
The victim, who only wanted to be known as Dana, also said that threats were made over her work when she refused the offer.
Another former employee, Laura (not her real name), has since alleged that the same individual had on several occasions discussed sex when they were alone.
She said that on one occasion he spoke about his sex life as they were making their way back to Kuala Lumpur from Kelantan after working on a conservation project.
“I told him to stop and he got upset. He then stopped at an R&R (rest and recreation area) and told me to find my own way home,” she told FMT.
Laura said that the supervisor, who she claimed had also touched her inappropriately on a couple of occasions, made her life at work very difficult after the incident.
It came to a point that she almost had a miscarriage due to depression, she said.
The supervisor had once also suggested that they share a room during an assignment in Singapore, she alleged.
She said she had reported the matter to the human resources department, but felt it was in vain as he allegedly carried on with his antics, often preying on new staff.
“I was angry because he could do such a thing and get away with it because he was an asset to the company,” she said.
The mother of three, who left WWF in late 2010, said she was still angry, and was affected upon reading about Dana coming forward with her story.
“I have a daughter and a little sister and I don’t want this to happen again,” she said.
Laura, however, said the situation improved when two new supervisors joined the organisation, with one even reprimanding the harasser.
She said she felt a little safer, but because the supervisors dealt with the matter behind closed doors the individual kept repeating his antics.
She said WWF could have handled the issue better.
“Why protect him despite the many allegations?” she said.
‘Ex-colleagues recount harassment by different people’
Another former employee, Fauziah (not her real name) recalled how her colleague at WWF had sexually harassed her by describing the colour of her bra which he claimed to have accidentally seen.
Fauziah said she was caught off guard by his comments as she was wearing a baju kurung and tudung at that time.
“A few days later he came to my workstation and started to recall what he saw, and told me that he couldn’t sleep after that day and that he kept thinking about me. He even told me he would marry me if I wasn’t already married,” she said.
Fauziah, however, said he stopped making such comments after she reprimanded him.
Meanwhile, Rahayu Zulkifli who was previously attached with the NGO said in a Facebook post that other ex-colleagues had contacted her and shared their experiences of being sexually harassed at different times by different people in WWF-Malaysia.
Many victims, she said, chose to keep silent for various reasons, including fear of repercussion and not being aware of their rights.
“It is hoped that following the exposure of this sad episode, the complaints and investigation system and procedures everywhere are further improved to be more effective, empathetic and victim-friendly,” said Rahayu, who was in charge of a turtle conservation programme in Terengganu.
On Thursday, WWF-Malaysia said it would be taking immediate action on the matter as it treated any allegation of misconduct by any staff “extremely seriously”, including ones brought forward by former staff members.
WWF-Malaysia executive director Dionysius Sharma, who labelled the allegations “troubling” said it would investigate the matter and reach out to those who felt victimised.
Sharma said this in response to a query from FMT on the claims first made on Facebook by a former employee who said the organisation had covered up alleged sexual harassment towards a female junior personnel and swept complaints against the perpetrator under the rug.
“We are committed to listen to them and reassure them that we will do our best to address the grave concerns they have raised. We are committed to ensuring that we adopt a duty of care for the people who place their trust in us, and this includes former employees,” Sharma said, adding that WWF-Malaysia has a zero-tolerance approach to harassment."
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Postcards for Tiger Rangers from WWF-Malaysia and Partners
Posted on 03 August 2012
Petaling Jaya, 3 August 2012 – More than 100 postcards had been made out to the respective Tiger Rangers and Ranger Teams in the country from the staff of WWF-Malaysia today. This is in support of the newly launched ‘Cards4Tigers’ action jointly organised by WWF’s Tigers Alive Initiative, TRAFFIC-SEA and MY CAT. The postcards are a show of support and appreciation for the rangers, and the work they do, to stop wildlife crime across the world’s 12 remaining tiger landscapes. The campaign was launched on July 31st to jointly coincide with World Tiger Day and World Ranger Day, on the 29th and 31st respectively, to celebrate the world’s largest species of cat and the people who risk life and limb to protect them. Also known as forest guards, park wardens and field enforcement officers, many rangers work under harsh conditions to keep wild tigers and other animals safe. The work of a Ranger is multi-faceted and far from easy, and yet they are among the lowest paid of all government employees. And with their duties having them go into the depths of the jungle for weeks at length, they spend significant amounts of time away from their families … for more, go to http://www.wwf.org.my/?uNewsID=14560
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| N.37 LET BUKIT LANJAN SOAR WITH SYED ABDUL RAZAK ALSAGOFF |
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