Yao-Hua Law

Malaysia’s indigenous Orang Asli call for end to logging amid fears for endangered tigers

For 16 months, indigenous Orang Asli villagers of Kampung Mesau in Malaysia have been living at a fork in a logging road. In the Chini-Bera forests in Pahang, they have built a wooden blockade to stop loggers from entering the thick forests north of…

Orang Asli Reject New Houses for Forests

RICE COOKS in a soot-covered pot behind Rani Jilal. The 72-year-old man sits on bare ground in his hut. He is a senior member of the Temoq Orang Asli of Kampung Mesau in the Chini-Bera forests, Pahang. Behind Rani, the boiling rice spills out of the…

Destroying Tiger Habitat in Pahang Despite Promises

A PROPOSED 8,498 ha oil palm project in Pahang occupies a key location in Peninsular Malaysia’s wildlife habitats and forest landscape. The project site sits in the centre of the Chini-Bera forest complex, according to the Master Plan for Ecological…

Cutting the Chini-Bera Forests for Oil Palm that Can’t Sell

YP Olio Sdn Bhd has just received approval from the Department of Environment to turn a sprawling forest in Pahang into oil palm. But evidence suggests the plantation will fail to get mandatory certification and license. So, why cut the forest? Part…

Warning of ecological disaster over Malaysia forest plantations

Critics say clearance of thousands of hectares of natural growth forest has destroyed crucial habitats in one of the world’s most biodiverse nations. Kelantan, Malaysia – When Sia Beng Hok goes to check his rubber and batai (Moluccan albizia) trees,…

Malaysia’s Johor royals linked to forests felled for oil palm plantations without full approval

Satellite images show hundreds of hectares of trees cleared from a site by a company Johor’s royal family part owns, without the proper approvals Locals say nearby plantations turned rivers itchy, sour and at times coffee-black – and drove elephants…

For Malaysia’s Orang Asli villagers, forest-clearing for plantations is devastating their way of life

Authorities have supported forest plantations as a source of sustainable timber supply, but increasingly need to deal with non-compliant planters Indigenous villagers in Kelantan state say they are deprived of what they need for their daily lives and…

The Problems and Promise of Forest Plantations in Kelantan

This is Part 3 of our four-part #LadangHutan series. ON A NOVEMBER afternoon after a drizzle, planter Sia Beng Hock stands by a dirt road in the Relai Forest Reserve, Kelantan. Around him, batai trees (Falcataria moluccana, also Paraserianthes…

Forest Plantations in Reserves: Quick to Cut, Slow to Grow

IN MALAYSIA, forest reserves can be selectively logged. Clear-felling was prohibited in forest reserves (“reserves”) except for developing limited plots of forest plantations. That changed when the National Land Council extended a warm welcome to…

In Malaysia’s Johor, forest reserves are being replaced with gold mines and palm oil plantations

Malaysia Forest reserves in northeastern Johor are shrinking due to land clearing linked to economic projects, prompting concerns over elephant-human conflicts Experts say the deforestation of an area with a rich biodiversity is alarming and runs…

Cut, carved, and cleared: When Big Forests Go

The Jemaluang and Tenggaroh forest reserves once blanketed the northeastern coast of Johor. Side by side, the reserves stretched 25 km long and 11 km wide. This year, the Jemaluang reserve would have been 98 years old, and Tenggaroh 70. But six years…

20 Years of Forestry Data

State gazettes, forestry statistics, and satellite imagery – all the data we reported for our story on forest management, is public. Get them here. (Image: Terengganu state gazette on forest reserve changes.） The above Google Drive link contains all…

State Forestry Departments Share Their Successes

In their own words, state forestry directors in Peninsular Malaysia tell us their major achievements in the last two decades. IN PENINSULAR Malaysia, state governments and their agencies control forests. About 85% of the forests are classified as…

Forest Management

What matters in forest management, and which state does it well? A story built on 20 years of forestry data in Peninsular Malaysia. (Cover photo: From Bukit Awan to Gunung Tahan, by SK Chong) Can you guess what this square shows? It represents the…

彭亨伐木项目加剧原住民土地权的斗争

一个位于彭亨州的种植项目将砍伐大约85平方公里的森林。居住当地的原住民自2019年就反对此项目。然而，发展商获得了有原住民签名的同意书，显得居民似乎转态支持伐木及种植项目了。到底这些同意书背后的真相是什么呢？ 原著：刘耀华；翻译：万绮珊 奥玛拉尼（Omar Rani）是一名来自彭亨Kampung Berengoi的原住民。他和村里的原住民都是文盲。他们自称：“我们从未上过学。” 去年，他们被要求签署一封同意书，以获得YP…

Pembasmian Hutan di Pahang menghambat perjuangan hak tanah Orang Asli

Sebuah projek perladangan di Pahang akan membasmi hutan primer seluas 85km2. Projek ini dibantah oleh penduduk Orang Asli sejak 2019. Namun demikian, terdapat dua surat persetujuan yang ditandatangani penduduk Orang Asli yang kononnya menyuarakan…

Deforestation project in Pahang exacerbates Orang Asli land rights struggle

A plantation project in Pahang wants to clear almost 85km2 of primary forest. The Orang Asli who live on the site have been protesting the logging since 2019. But there are two letters signed by the illiterate villagers which purportedly show their…

Pahang deforestation adds to decades of indigenous land rights struggle in Malaysia

Omar Rani is an Orang Asli who lives in the village of Kampung Berengoi in the Malaysian state of Pahang. Omar and his fellow villagers, also members of the indigenous group, are illiterate – or as they put it: “We haven’t gone to school”. Last year,…

Can oil palm explain Malaysia’s decreasing forest loss?

Last year, the world lost 12% more tropical forest than it did in 2019, according to satellite census by forest monitoring platform Global Forest Watch. Malaysia bucked the global trend: it lost less. In fact, Malaysia has trimmed its primary forest…

Can Oil Palm Explain The Lower Forest Loss Here?

Last year, tropical forest loss increased worldwide but Malaysia cut down less than it did the previous year, the fourth year it has done so. What explains this good news? Last year, the world lost 12% more tropical forest than it did in 2019,…