Protect Coral Reefs in Malaysia

We have a little recycling centre on Mantanani Island, Sabah, called the Mantanani Plastic Recycling Centre (MPRC). All the collected waste will be sorted at the MPRC either to be sent to the landfill or recycled.

Aligning with our goal to make it sustainable, we embarked on a solar installation project for the MPRC. In August 2022, the solar system was installed. The solar system covers our filed offices, recycling centre and Virgin Coconut Oil processing factory. However, it was not enough to power all the machines. It was only sufficient to power fans, lightbulbs, field offices and several machines in the VCO building.

Recently, the solar system was upgraded and it can now power the Baler machine and the extruder machine used for recycling. This means that the MRC is fully solar-powered.

Together, we can achieve great things. We thank you for being on this journey with us. Step by step, we will get far. Your kindness and continuous support will light the way.

Anchors from boats can cause considerable damage to coral reefs, including breakage, fragmentation and direct injury to the reef ecosystem. Additionally, anchors and chains can break or dislodge corals, sponges and sea fans, resulting in immediate and long-term damage to large areas of the coral reef. Some coral species only 1cm per year, therefore it can take many years for some coral to recover from an anchoring incident. Anchoring also causes immediate and extensive damage on reef-associated habitats such as seagrass beds, which are important nursery and juvenile habitats for many species. A mooring buoy floats in water to which boats can be moored. Mooring buoys are therefore essential to marine tourism as they discourage boats from dropping their anchors.

The Tioman Marine Conservation Group from Tioman Island inspects existing mooring buoys regularly and installs new mooring buoys and fixes broken mooring buoys when needed. Over the last 13 months, the team together with Reef Check Malaysia had installed and fixed a total of 13 mooring buoys.

Further down south from Tioman Island, Reef Check Malaysia aided in the installation of mooring buoys at Harimau and Hujung islands with the help of Besar Island’s community. It is hoped that these mooring buoys will help to reduce the impacts of anchoring on the reefs.

In year 2022, our team on Mantanani Island has successfully prevented more than 52,000kg wastes from ending up polluting the island and its surrounding environments. With the recycling collection centre (Mantanani Plastic Recycling Centre) on the island, which was established in 2018 and run by our team together with members of the local community, recyclable materials such as plastic bottles were compacted before being packed and sent out of the island to recycling centre on mainland. Every month, our team collected around 4,000 to 6,000 plastic bottles, especially PET bottles. Other recyclable materials such as glass bottles, cans, metals and electrical wastes were also sent out of the island to be recycled. Food waste on the other hand was composted on the island for fertiliser, which will be used by the locals in their community farming.

Kampung Song-Song, located in Kota Belud, Sabah, has been identified as one of the poorest villages around the area. In order to empower the women in the village, the Pertubuhan Wanita Kampung Song-Song (WANIS), a women's association, was established in June last year. Organisational management courses were conducted online and the association was formally registered 2 months later. The Community Learning Centre was also established a month later.

Few months back, 20 ladies from WANIS participated in a 3-day sewing course conducted by Smart Skill Academy Kota Belud, the same trainer we engaged for Basic Sewing Course that was conducted last year. During this recent training, the ladies were taught skills to make tote bag, make-up bag, headband and facemask. After completion of the course, the ladies were planning to develop tote bag and facemask.

Other than the sewing course, 10 ladies from WANIS joined a 2-day 1-night study trip to Sabah Muzeum and Koperasi Kraftangan Batu Lunguyan. The aim of the Sabah Muzeum visit was to show the ladies Sabah’s rich history and culture. The main objective of the study trip was to visit Koperasi Kraftangan Batu Lunguyan for knowledge exchange. The team was welcomed by Renny who shared Batu Lunguyan’s community-lead handicraft making venture – how and when they started, how they manage their business, as well as their successes and challenges. The ladies from WANIS in return shared how WANIS was formed and the handicraft that they are producing. After the visit, the ladies from WANIS were discussing what other products they can produce.

Improving the livelihood and capacity of local communities is an effective way to lift them out of poverty. We hope that this programme will equip them with necessary skills to generate sustainable income and ultimately uplifting the lives of the Song-Song village community. 

Recently, Reef Check Malaysia together with Department of Fisheries Johor and local communities of Sibu Island rescued and transplanted a total of 117 coral fragments on 4 metal frames and 3 cement blocks. Live broken coral fragments (regardless of growth form and species) were collected from the surrounding reefs and attached to the metal frames and cement blocks. Many of these coral fragments were on the seabed and thus partially bleached (the side resting on the sand). Without attachment to a solid substrate, these corals would, over time, be abraded by natural water circulation and die. This latest reef rehabilitation installation is located at the house reef of Twin Beach Resort at Sibu Island. The rescued corals will be monitored monthly to determine their health.