Rahmat Shah: Hunting Is OK, But There Is A Krama

JAKARTA - Entrepreneur and politician Rahmat Shah revealed the reason he dared to spend up to Rp. 1 billion rupiah for the survival of the Medan Zoo, which has been in the spotlight for a lot of neglect. According to Rahmat, his concern for Medan Zoo could not be separated from his love for animals since childhood.

So since I was a child, I have loved keeping wild animals such as cedestrians,tenders, and snakes. In fact, if a maid in my house kills an animal, I can get angry and cry for days," said Rahmat to host Eddy Wijaya on the EdShare On podcast which aired Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

The Medan City Development Regional Public Company (PUD) business unit, Medan Zoo, received assistance of Rp1 billion from Rahmat Shah for the Medan Zoo on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. According to Rahmat at that time, the funds were part of the total Rp5 billion which would be donated in stages. "This good intention aims noble for nature and for God's creatures," said the man, known for his many philanthropic actions.

Rahmat, who is none other than a member of the 2009-2014 DPD RI, did not suddenly care about animals and donate to the Medan Zoo. He previously had a long experience in managing a zoo. In addition to having one of the best zoos in Indonesia, namely Rahmat Zoo and Park located in Perbaungan, Serdang Bedagai, North Sumatra, Rahmat also built a wildlife museum called the Rahmat International Wildlife Museum and Gallery in Medan. It is known that the museum is the only one in Asia that has more than 5,000 taxidermi specimens.

Now Rahmat is brandishing the Indonesian Zoo Association (PKBSI). In this organization, he continues to campaign for the importance of developing a zoo in an area for the education of the younger generation. Through a zoo, people can get healthy, educational, and affordable entertainment. Well, if children go to the mall, to a shopping center, to places that highlight a luxury, it could even be rusturing'. The consumptive culture will endanger their future," he said.

Although known as animal lovers, Rahmat also often hunts animals abroad. He even joined the Safari Club International (SCI) which took him to explore forests in parts of the world such as Africa, France, the United States, Canada, and Germany.

Rahmat emphasized that his actions were not illegal and destructive, but instead as a learning place to protect the animal population through strict hunting rules. For example, it is forbidden to kill wild animals but the target is unproductive adult animals with certain shooting distances so as not to hurt them. "So, hunting is okay but there are manners that we must hold so that the population is maintained," he said.

Rahmat said that the conditions and rules for hunting are different from in Indonesia. In our country we are not allowed to hunt, but massacres occur everywhere. People ensnare, toxic (animals) are exhausted. In the past, we had three types of tigers, namely Javanese, Balinese, and Sumatran tigers. Javanese and Bali are extinct, now, Sumatra can also do that if we don't look after it," he said.

Therefore, Rahmat reiterated that his hunting steps had a mission to save the animal's extinction. In contrast to wild animal hunters who often carry out animal slaughters cruelly regardless of the animal's survival.

"So my message to the younger generation should not be easy to sentence other people if they don't control their problems. Sorry, if this is the case I'm a bit provoked," he laughed.

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