Earth Matters

Many of the challenges facing Orang Asli communities are already well known, but what’s really driving them? In Part Two of our two-part special, we turn to what many argue is the root issue: land. In Part One, we explored the lived experiences, from education and healthcare to questions around identity and development. Now, we turn to land, and why it remains one of the most critical and contested issues. This conversation is based on the policy brief “Orang Asli Advancement and the Right to Land, Territories and Resources,” by the Center for Orang Asli Concerns. Helping us to unpack all the issues is Dr Colin Nicholas, the Founder and Coordinator of the Center for Orang Asli Concerns. 

Listen to Part 1 here.

Image Credit: Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC)

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What are the realities facing Orang Asli communities in Malaysia today? It’s a question that touches on everything from education and healthcare to identity, representation, and the way development is carried out on the ground. This is Part One of a two-part special based on the policy brief “Orang Asli Advancement and the Right to Land, Territories and Resources,” published by the Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC). We speak to Dr Colin Nicholas, Founder and Coordinator of the Center for Orang Asli Concerns. about those lived realities, who the Orang Asli are, how policy has shaped their experiences, and why some approaches to development may be falling short.

Listen to Part 2 here.

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A rare earth processing facility in Gebeng is back in the headlines, following the government’s decision to grant it a 10-year licence renewal. While new conditions have been introduced, civil society groups say longstanding concerns over radioactive waste, transparency, and accountability remain unresolved. At the same time, a separate agreement linking Malaysia’s rare earth supply to a foreign defence department is raising fresh ethical and legal questions. To unpack all of this, we speak to Meenakshi Raman, the President of Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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For this month's episode of Nature Reads, we speak to Datuk Dr John Payne, the Chief Executive Officer of Bringing Back Our Rare Animals or BORA, who has spent decades working on wildlife conservation across Malaysia, particularly in Sabah. But beyond the field, he is also a prolific author, having written everything from wildlife guides and conservation manuals to deeply reflective works on species loss, restoration, and what we’ve learned along the way. Together with co-host Surin Suksuwan, the co-founder of Sunda Shelves, we explore the books that shaped John's early interest in nature, how his writing has evolved over the years, and what he hopes readers, especially those outside the conservation world, will take away from his work. 

Nature Reads on Earth Matters is a monthly show where we explore the stories behind books that bring us closer to nature and the world around us, done in collaboration with Sunda Shelves, an independent bookstore with a passion for wild places and thoughtful reads.

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It’s been a year since the Putra Heights pipeline explosion, a disaster that left hundreds of homes damaged and more than a hundred people injured. While an official investigation by the official Parliamentary Special Select Committee concluded there was no negligence, a new report titled “Putra Heights: One Year On, Unanswered Questions Remain” is raising questions about what may have been overlooked, particularly when it comes to planning, safety standards, and oversight. We explore those findings with the report's co-authors, Hamizah Shamsudeen, a Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Malaysia, and Adam Farhan, the Co-Founder and Director at RimbaWatch.

Image Credit: Greenpeace Malaysia

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Malaysia is one of the world’s megadiverse countries, and for decades, it has held itself to a global commitment to maintain at least 50 percent forest cover. But as pressure on land continues to grow, and new independent data points to large areas of forest already earmarked for conversion, questions are being raised about whether that promise is still being upheld in practice. Now, a group of six young Malaysians has taken the issue to court, in what is believed to be the country’s first climate-focused lawsuit of its kind, challenging not just environmental policy, but the responsibilities of government to its people. Joining us to unpack what the “Mana Hutan Kami” lawsuit and case is about, and what it could mean going forward, are lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, the legal counsel for the applicants, and Abe Lim, a climate governance advocate and one of the applicants in the case.

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Malaysia’s highest court has dismissed a legal challenge to protect the Shah Alam Community Forest, marking the end of a three-and-a-half-year fight by conservation groups. The decision has raised serious concerns about the future of forest protection in the country, and what it could mean for public participation in environmental decisions. Joining us to help unpack what this ruling means, and what comes next, are Alicia Teoh, Founder and Secretary of the Shah Alam Community Forest Society, and Dr Teckwyn Lim, Advisor of the society.

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In Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Buloh, a group of Temuan women are running a community nursery, growing native plants using knowledge rooted in the forest around them. Their work supports both livelihoods and conservation, while drawing on generations of lived experience and connection to the land. This has been brought together in “A Guide to Our Nursery and Plants”, a booklet shaped by the women’s knowledge and experiences, and produced under the Rantaian Urban Green Spaces or RUGS project by the Malaysian Nature Society, and done in collaboration with Gerimis Art Project. We chat with Wen Di Sia (Co-founder, Gerimis Art Project) and Sharon Yap (Art Director, Gerimis Art Project) who worked on the booklet, about the value of indigenous plants and knowledge, the women behind the nursery working to preserve this legacy, and what we can all learn from their work.

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This year marks ten years since the Sarawak government cancelled the proposed Baram Dam, a project that would have displaced thousands of people and flooded vast areas of Indigenous land. It was a hard-fought victory, led by communities who stood their ground for years to protect their rivers and their homes. But today, Sarawak is once again pushing forward with new dam proposals, raising familiar concerns about environmental impact, energy needs, and whether communities are being properly included in the process. Are we seeing history repeat itself? We discuss this and more with Peter Kallang, Chairman and Founder of SAVE Rivers, and Celine Lim, Managing Director of SAVE Rivers.

Image: Sarawak, Bakun Jan 5, 2018, Murum dam

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Indigenous knowledge, cultural identity, and environmental stewardship all come together in a project called Jungle School Gombak, which offers something quite different from a typical classroom. Here, the forest becomes the learning space, and Orang Asli community members take on the role of teachers, sharing skills, stories, and perspectives that are rarely experienced firsthand. It’s an initiative that not only brings people closer to nature, but also challenges how we think about knowledge, expertise, and whose voices matter. We're joined by its co-founders, Major Retired Kalam Pie, an Orang Asli activist and former Royal Malaysian Air Force officer, and Assistant Professor Dr Norzalifa Zainal Abidin, from the faculty of Architecture and Environmental Design, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

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