The Royal Belum State Park - nature's breathtaking gift. Picture courtesy of Tay Sia Ping. UNDER a nimbus of rainforest trees in the pale waning light of a tropical afternoon, the undulating waters of the placid lake rock the houseboat gently. It’s quiet out here at the Royal Belum State Park. The skies overhead warn of impending rain, but Andrew Sebastian, chief executive officer of Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY) is undeterred. The quest to see hornbills

A boat heading into the Royal Belum rainforest THE buffer zones of Royal Belum State Park must be protected to prevent logging and ensure the forest reserve makes it into the heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). Eco-tourism and Conservation Society Malaysia (Ecomy) co-founder and chief executive officer Andrew Sebastian said it was pointless for the state park to be accorded the status when just across the Gerik highw

THE buffer zones of Royal Belum State Park must be protected to prevent logging and ensure the forest reserve makes it into the heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). Eco-tourism and Conservation Society Malaysia (Ecomy) co-founder and chief executive officer Andrew Sebastian said it was pointless for the state park to be accorded the status when just across the Gerik highway, logging continues at the Temenggor Forest R

TIME moves differently in the deep impenetrable forests of the Taman Negara National Park. For the indigenous tribes that live by the laws of the jungle, little has changed. Technology has little use for these gentle tribes, while the ways of the jungle has taken precedence over everything else. Living on the fringes of the national park, the nomadic community has been living off the grid as did their ancestors. Whispers of a lost guide deep in the jungles of Kuala Tahan slow

KAMPUNG Aur is the second Batek village in Taman Negara to start using lights – for the first time ever. Located along the border of the national park, some 9km away from Kuala Tahan and accessible only by boat through Sg Tembeling, the kampong is not on the grid. Villagers lead a nomadic lifestyle, often spending long periods in the jungle where they hunt and gather what they need. However, with logging and plantation activities threatening their way of life, the tribe is fo