As an environmental studies student, reading Malaysiakini’s reporting on the pollution linked to iron ore mining in Kampung Kelaik, Kelantan last year, and pictures of their food covered by a rust-red substance was a shock.
But more devastating was reading about the high chromium levels in the blood of resident Azlan Ahak, 19, likely due to the heavy metal pollution upstream.
I, too, am 19.
This is someone my age, suffering from the consequences of another’s disregard for the environment.
Sadly, this is not an isolated case.
Indigenous people and vulnerable communities all around the world bear the burden of dealing with the aftermath of environmental degradation, often caused by large industries and development projects prioritising profits over ecological health and social welfare.
Kampung Kelaik is left to bear with contaminated water, biodiversity loss, and the decline of its cultural heritage.
I firmly believe that empowering indigenous people to speak out and uphold their land rights is crucial for the future of protecting vulnerable communities and the conservation efforts of Malaysia’s rich biodiversity.
Failure to protect the rights of indigenous people is a failure to protect our land and history.
Having reached out to Malaysiakini, I was given the opportunity to tag along on one of their reporting trips to Kampung Kelaik and witness the situation firsthand.
The knowledge and stories shared by the residents of Kampung Kelaik, along with my observations on the ground, have provided me a deeper understanding of the challenges they face.
Day 1 - Uniting to resist land encroachment
Upon arrival at Kampung Kelaik, we were greeted with a warm welcome.
We sat with Ahak Uda, head of Kampung Kelaik’s action committee and a key plaintiff in the legal battle against the parties responsible for the pollution.
His calm yet determined demeanour reflected the weight of his people’s struggles on his shoulders.
We gathered in a large traditional house, its bamboo walls and palm-thatched roof a testament to the Temiar people’s deep connection with the forest.
Ahak explained that this newly constructed house was more than just a shelter - it was a symbol. It stood as a quiet but powerful declaration of their cultural heritage and served as a message that their ancestral traditions still endure, even in the face of adversity.
For the residents of Kampung Kelaik, traditional building materials such as rattan and bertam leaves are essential to building homes that are adapted to the local climate and landscape.
These materials are both renewable and biodegradable, embodying generations of traditional ecological knowledge that has maintained a harmonious balance with nature.
But this heritage is under threat.
Destruction of the surrounding forest has depleted the availability of these resources, forcing the community to turn towards alternatives that feel foreign and disconnected from their traditions.
In many other houses, plastic strings replace rattan in binding together structures.
Metal roofs are constructed, replacing bertam leaves, absorbing heat and making life more uncomfortable during hot days.
This shift not only undermines the practicality of their homes but represents a deeper erosion of a unique cultural legacy of craftsmanship.
On that day, representatives from other indigenous villages had journeyed from afar to gather in solidarity with Kampung Kelaik, bringing with them stories of resilience and hardship in protecting their ancestral land from encroachment.
Throughout the night, voices filled the air - stories of exploitation, of being forcibly driven away from their homes, and of threats for daring to stay.
In many cases, they were treated as if they didn’t exist. Families were told to leave the homes and farms which they had spent years building, displaced due to a land agreement signed by someone they had never known or met.
These were not anomalies, but a shared pain that echoed across the room.
To realise this was happening within my own country left me deeply unsettled. It left me wondering, what other injustices remain unheard of? What stories have been forced into silence?
Despite the immense challenges, they showed resilience and determination in protecting their lands. Together, the kampung (village) representatives exchanged advice on how to navigate the legal system and file reports, drawing strength from their shared experiences.
Some created maps to formalise the boundaries of their kampung, others were actively preparing documentation to prevent future encroachments upon their land.
I couldn’t help but feel greatly inspired by their steadfast resolve, even with the odds stacked heavily against them.
As the night drew to a close, Ahak left us with a hopeful reminder: “No matter what, we must always stand up for ourselves and fight!”
Day 2 - Mining is destroying the forest, endangering lives
As the sun rose, I could hear the distant call of gibbons echo throughout the forest.
These agile creatures, an endangered keystone species of apes, play a vital role in maintaining the balance of our ecosystems.
Their wonderful song served as a reminder that the forest is teeming with life, and there is still time to protect what remains.
After gearing up, the villagers brought us on motorbikes to the mining sites nearby, starting with Aqua Orion Sdn Bhd.
The journey was bumpy as we rode through giant dirt paths carved through the forest. Exposed soil and muddy tracks were left behind, signs of the heavy machinery which passed this area.
From a high vantage point, I could see the vast expanse of lush trees, as well as the land-clearing projects which fragmented the land.
As we approached the mining site operated by Aqua Orion, we were met with a grim sight. A sprawling wasteland, left with raw, exposed earth, stripped bare of its life by relentless resource extraction.
Iron ore mining is at the heart of this degradation.
The process of extracting iron-rich ore generates iron tailings - wastewater containing chemical contaminants and suspended solids. These tailings are then stored in man-made ponds on hillsides, which often overflow and spread over the nearby land when it rains.
The consequences are tragic.
Heavy metal contamination exposed to the natural environment spreads over the land and alters the nearby soil chemistry, disrupting its nutrient balance and diminishing its fertility.
Trees that once formed the backbone of critical wildlife habitats now struggle to survive, threatening all life that inhabits the forest.
“We used to hunt here,” one villager recalled. “Everything we needed was here - food, water, medicine. Now, it’s all gone.”
Heavy metal pollutants are then carried by runoff into nearby rivers, staining the waters with a distinctive red hue. This toxic contamination pollutes water sources crucial for both wildlife and indigenous communities living along the river.
“We were informed about the mining operation many years ago,” another villager shared, their gaze fixed on the barren wasteland. “But we didn’t expect it to get this bad.”
A similar sight was seen later when we visited Redstar Capital Sdn Bhd’s mining site, another stretch of forest lay barren and scarred by deep machine tracks - it looked straight out of a post-apocalyptic world.
Without any trees or vegetation, the contaminated land is now exposed to erosion and destabilisation from rainfall, drastically increasing the risk of landslides.
The alteration of the soil has created dangerous conditions that communities were never meant to face.
Flash floods during heavy rains have become a recurring threat. Their sudden and violent surges carry along with them heavy logs and debris - endangering the lives of anyone living downstream.
One such flood took the life of Angah Alang, a respected Temiar leader, in 2015. And two years later, it almost claimed the lives of children playing in the river. Now, the community lives in constant fear for their safety, as every rainfall brings a feeling of uneasiness.
[Editor’s Note: Redstar Capital denies that Angah’s death was caused by flooding related to mining operations. It also claims it does not discharge water into the river. This is contrary to what was documented by Malaysiakini while the mine was operating. Both Redstar Capital and Aqua Orion received stop-work notices from the Department of Environment following Malaysiakini’s report last year.]
The scale of this contamination has inflicted irreversible harm upon both the environment and the community. This issue raises important questions: Who will take responsibility for these devestations? How much more damage will be done before it’s enough? And what will it take for real change to happen?
These questions lingered in my head as we returned to the kampung for the evening.
Day 3 - Deforestation disrupts wildlife, erases Temiar heritage
On the third day, we were brought to Kampung Kelaik 1 to have a look at the situation further downstream. Our guide, Angah, brought us to see a small garden built by the community, a space that once provided nourishment for the villagers.
However, we were met with a disheartening sight. The garden had been ravaged - trampled by elephants searching for food in a fragmented habitat.
As vast patches of forests disappear, elephants - once thriving in these rich and abundant habitats, are forced to roam beyond their migratory paths in search for food.
It was clear that this wasn’t a random act of wildlife aggression, but rather a direct result of man-made habitat destruction and fragmentation.
Destruction of forest habitats and natural corridors will leave wildlife, such as elephants, to adapt to an ever-shrinking space and move into human territory.
The installation of electrical fences surrounding plantations - designed to protect commercial crops - consequently worsened the problem. These fences redirect the elephants to target small cultivated gardens, leaving the burden of human-wildlife conflict on the Kampung Kelaik community.
But the consequences of land development doesn’t just end with wildlife. Ahak brought us to a nearby patch of rubber trees overseeing a commercial farm. These weren’t just any trees - they were heirloom trees planted by the ancestors of the Temiar people.
This patch was just a small fraction of what it once was.
In the late 2000s, many heirloom trees of Kampung Kelaik were cut down without warning for the expansion of nearby plantations. This included rubber, durian, and rambutan trees which not only provided fruits and produce but also acted as living symbols of the community’s deep connection with the land.
Even more concerningly, ancestral burial sites - sacred grounds where generations of Temiar ancestors were laid to rest - were cleared out to make way for crops.
“We explained to them clearly, we even marked the burial sites, yet they continued to push it all down,” said Angah, saddened by the destruction of his ancestors’ legacy.
The desecration of these burial sites shows complete disrespect and disregard for the cultural heritage of the Temiar people and the spiritual significance of their land.
These actions represent a broader issue: the absolute prioritisation of economic gain over environmental and cultural preservation, threatening the livelihoods of indigenous communities and the stability of natural ecosystems.
It struck me that this loss was not just physical - it was cultural, spiritual, and deeply personal. Every tree that fell was a piece of their cultural identity lost.
An often overlooked consequence of environmental degradation is the loss of Traditional Ecological Knowledge amongst indigenous people.
Without these components of nature, the elders of Kampung Kelaik worry they may not be able to pass on traditional wisdom to young members of their community.
The diminishing of this knowledge not only undermines the community’s resilience living in such an environment but also deprives the world of sustainable practices honed over generations.
Despite colonial and post-colonial authorities commonly criticising indigenous agroforestry practices as being uncontrolled “slashing and burning”, research has shown that their customary methods are “ecologically appropriate, culturally suitable, and under certain circumstances the best means of preserving biodiversity” (Dryzek J, 1997).
Preserving the cultural heritage and Traditional Ecological Knowledge of indigenous people is crucial for the conservation of our environment as their traditional practices embodies the best of sustainable stewardship and ecological understanding.
A profound sense of determination
As we left Kampung Kelaik, I felt a profound sense of determination. Despite the immense challenges they face, the people of this community continue to fight tirelessly to protect their ancestral land. Their courage is a testimony to what we as humanity can achieve when we stand with nature, rather than against it.
However, this burden does not rest solely on their shoulders. True change demands collective action.
Government bodies and private sectors need to implement strong regulatory frameworks which hold industries accountable for the environmental and social damages they cause. Voices of indigenous communities need to be at the forefront of decision-making processes in conservation initiatives and land-use policies.
As the public, we too have a role to fill. This ranges from spreading awareness on social media, sending donations for legal expenses, and actively participating in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) to prevent unsustainable projects from being approved.
The struggle of indigenous people is not just their own - it is ours too. They embody the best of environmental stewardship and represent our hope for a greener future. No action is too small, and every effort counts. - Mkini
MOHAMMAD FARIS is an environmental studies undergraduate at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia. He was among students and key opinion leaders selected to join Malaysiakini on a reporting trip to Kampung Kelaik, Gua Musang on February 7-9, 2025. The trip was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Reporting Grant.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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