Malaysia orangutan programme says donations eligible for tax relief

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Donations to a Malaysian orangutan conservation programme will be eligible for tax relief, including on funds that come from palm oil industry players, the overseeing foundation said on Wednesday.

The tax relief would be in accordance with the income tax act, the Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation said in a statement, although the amount of relief was not specified.

The initiative overseeing the orangutan conservation programme is led by the plantation and commodities ministry.

Orangutans are critically endangered, with conservation group WWF estimating the population of the primates at less than 105,000 on the island of Borneo.

The foundation will use donations to preserve and conserve orangutans, including by establishing expert teams to monitor the endangered animals.

"Funds can also be used for the planting of forest trees and fruits that are a source of food for orangutans," the foundation's general manager Hairulazim Mahmud said.

On Sunday, the commodities minister said companies that import palm oil from Malaysia would be able to adopt orangutans but the primates would not be able to leave the country.

(Reporting by Danial Azhar; Editing by John Mair)