Hey 👋🏻 all, wishing all a happy blessed 🆕 year 2024, let’s make 2024 another meaningful & fulfilling year ahead 💖
This time, SiennyLovesDrawing 👩🏻 is gonna sharing about the good continuous sustainability efforts for Wang Kelian, Perlis, Malaysia 🇲🇾
Perlis has gained its geopark status 👏🏻👍🏻💯
Hmm….This is a long throwback story of her media attendance to witness the special screening of ~ Wang Kelian – The Forgotten Valley / Lembah Yang Kian Hilang back in Sept 2023, Malaysia Day ~ In fact, do read on as it’s more about this beautiful valley & the great 💯👍🏻 continuous efforts behind for its sustainable eco & rural tourism, as well as community tourism
Yes ✅, the documentary was shown on a big screen for the 1️⃣st time at GSC cinema 🎥, Lalaport BBCC
A big congratulations 👏🏻 🎉 to her friend, Mr Peter Ong 🙋🏻♂️, a wildlife photographer & biodiversity environmentalist , also the producer of this mentioned documentary ~ Wang Kelian – The Forgotten Valley / Lembah Yang Kian Hilang ~ & his team. So proud of the great 💯👍🏻 works done
She actually met Mr Peter Ong 🙋🏻♂️during her earlier media attendance for the Perlis ecotourism trip with Tourism Malaysia & Malaysia Airlines/ Firefly Airlines. He is so friendly & passionate in sharing his projects at Wang Kelian throughout, including the night walk in Perlis State Park aka Taman Negeri Perlis too. Ohh ya…He taught everyone that at night, you will be able to spot the wild animals by observing their eyes reflection 👁️👀
It’s absolutely an amazing great 👍🏻 & warm touching documentary filmed 📽️ A special thank you for this invitation, Mr Peter Ong, really appreciate it 🙏🏻💕
Everyone not just working towards the conservation of our environment & wildlife but also towards the empowerment of local communities & sustainability of livelihoods 💚💪🏻🙌🏻👏🏻
Yes ✅, all working towards developing sustainable & regenerative tourism in Malaysia 🇲🇾, bravo 🙌🏻👏🏻
This is a joint collaborative project 🤝🏻 between Roots & Shoots Malaysia (FB: @rootsandshootsmy) & Perlis Nature and Wildlife (FB: @PerlisNatureAndWildlife) with Project Mission to photograph 📸, film 📽️ & document 📃 the unique biodiversity & cultural heritage of the forests 🌳 🌳 surrounding Wang Kelian & Kaki Bukit from late Jan to March 2023 in Perlis, the northernmost state of Malaysia 🇲🇾 & with natural boundary from Thailand 🇹🇭
SiennyLovesDrawing also met & had a good chat with Mr Syamil Abd Rahman 🙋🏽♂️, the Perlis local & founder of Perlis Nature and Wildlife. She got impressed by the enthusiasm, passionate & love that Mr Syamil has demonstrated towards his love to his works & making Perlis, his home state a greater nature destination for flora & fauna diversity
There were a series of activities ie. A 150 page dual-language book 📖 in English & Bahasa Malaysia, a 30mins documentary 📹 & a 4️⃣ month exhibition that was held to showcase the discoveries made
Do check out SiennyLovesDrawing’s TikTok clip captured via 📹🌐 https://www.tiktok.com/@siennylovesdraw/video/7279561979616840961 , her LinkedIn photo album via 📸🌐 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/siennylovesdrawing_wangkelian-perlis-malaysia-activity-7147767740831809536-9Fx5 & this special screening also reported on news via 📰🗞️🌐 https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/09/18/finding-wang-kelians-treasure-trove
Background: Wang Kelian, Perlis 🇲🇾
At the northernmost point of the northernmost state in Peninsular Malaysia 🇲🇾 lies a village which is hugged by the ancient Nakawan Range in a valley which was once completely cut off from the rest of the country until the arrival of the main trunk road 🛣️ This 370 million year old mountain range ⛰️ which runs for 36km from the Thai border all the way to the Straits of Malacca is home to many unique species of flora & fauna
This includes the unique Stump-Tailed Macaque or Beruk Kentoi (Macaca arctoides) whose Malaysian population can only be found within the vicinity of Wang Kelian. This species is usually found further up north until the foothills of the Himalayas. Also known as the Bear Macaque, it has thick shaggy brown fur with red facial markings. The population in Wang Kelian does not cross over the Thai border nor do they go down south to the rest of the country which makes them uniquely Perlisian
These forests 🌳🌳 are home to 7️⃣ species of primates, making it one of the densest & richest forests in terms of biodiversity. The other primate species found here are the Long-Tailed Macaque, the Southern Pig-Tailed Macaque, the Dusky Langur, the rare Robinson’s Banded Langur, the endangered Lar Gibbon & the nocturnal Sunda Slow Loris
Birds are also aplenty in this part with regular sightings of the Great Hornbill, White-Crowned Hornbill, Changeable Hawk Eagles 🦅, Blue-Crowned Hanging Parrots 🦜, Orange-Breasted Trogon, Grey-Capped Pygmy Woodpecker & many more. The Dusky Eagle Owl 🦉 once thought to have disappeared completely from Malaysia 🇲🇾 was discovered by the team on the slopes of Wang Kelian while it was waiting to hunt
Even the caves here are filled with biodiversity. Some of the amazing encounters by the team in the darkness of these caves include the rarely seen Asiatic Brush-Tailed Porcupine (Atherurus macrourus) or Landak nibung & the Asian Leaf Turtle 🐢 (Cyclemis dentata), which is usually found on higher elevations
Another surprising discovery that was made was the existence of a ghost orchid species Chiloschista exuperei usually found from Thailand all the way to Yunan, China 🇨🇳 it has never been recorded in Malaysia prior to this
An archeological discovery was also made during this project with the findings of pottery ⚱️🏺 fragments & stone 🪨 tools from a prehistoric age indicating that ancient humans once settled in this area
Impacts: Sustainable eco, rural & community tourism
It’s hoped that this project will be able to spark off the growth of Wang Kelian & the Perlis State Park 🏞️ as an ecotourism destination in Malaysia 🇲🇾 It has everything for a nature lover to experience: ancient forests 🌳🌳, incredible & unique biodiversity, hiking 🥾 trails, limestone peaks to climb, caves, rivers, & so much more
The growth 📈 of ecotourism will also encourage more people not just to get to know our own country but also to spur economic growth for the local communities which emphasises the conservation of the land & all who live there
Yes ✅, personally to SiennyLovesDrawing, this similar sustainable eco, rural & community tourism efforts should also replicate to other states within Malaysia 🇲🇾 over time
- Who: Wang Kelian – The Forgotten Valley / Lembah Yang Kian Hilang
- Project Partners: Think City
- Supported by: The Habitat Foundation & Jabatan Perhutanan Perlis
- Official Airline: Malaysia Airlines ✈️
The Book 📖 ~ Wang Kelian ~ Perlis ~ The Forgotten Valley – Lembah Yang Kian Hilang ~
It’s a 150 page dual-language book 📖 in English & Bahasa Malaysia aka Malaysia’s national language. There are 3️⃣ chapters in this book 📖,
- Shaped by Limestone & Rain
- A Unique Habitat
- Living With Nature
As a typical bookworm 👩🏻💕📖, SiennyLovesDrawing has grabbed & read it during the year end holidays, hence the delay of this throwback blog post here as she wanted to compile in her book review in this blog story
She got impressed & amazed with beautiful photographs shared in this book 📖 that captured all the unique flora & fauna found in Chapter 2️⃣. This actually signifies the time, patience & great 👍🏻 efforts of the team to wait to capture these moments naturally in the greenery lands
Personally, she enjoyed most the Chapter 3️⃣, about the lifestyle of the local communities, as well as some of the local businesses. In fact, it gives some good suggestions on what to enjoy as a local at Perlis
Curious 🤔❓⁉️ Grab the book 📖 & check them out 😁
The book 📖 is retailing at RM120 per book 📖 at Kinokuniya KLCC (SiennyLovesDrawing purchased her copy from Botany/ Zoology C04-05 section 👩🏻📖) & Eslite book stores in Kuala Lumpur, online at the Gerakbudaya website (www.gerakbudaya.com), as well as directly from Roots and Shoots Malaysia or Perlis Nature and Wildlife. Do grab your copy via 📖🛒🛍️🌐 https://malaysia.kinokuniya.com/bw/9786299822103
The Documentary 📽️ ~ ~ Wang Kelian ~ The Forgotten Valley – Lembah Yang Kian Hilang ~
As shared at the beginning of this blog story, SiennyLovesDrawing has attended the special screening of this documentary 👩🏻📽️
It essentially accentuates the significance of environmental awareness & aims to showcase the rich biodiversity of our flora & fauna in a dedicated RimbaKita On Demand (OD) rail on all Astro platforms
This documentary is already made available ✅ for public viewing on Channel 100 Astro in the months of Aug & Sept with subscription
Mr Peter Ong 🙋🏻♂️ has shared at the end of this special screening that it’s now in progress of having this documentary online, however yet to decide which platform so to reach greater influences to more people. Let’s stay tuned ya 😁
- Director: Myles Storey
- Producer: Peter Ong
- Producer: TP Lim
- Assistant Producer: Amir Isqandar
- Assistant Producer: Jennifer P Linggi
- Featuring: Syamil Abd Rahman, Tham Ngui Long & Jamilah Md Isa
- Field Assistant: Mohamad Nur Hanif bin Noor Zaidi
The Exhibition
The exhibition was run for 4️⃣ months at Hotel Putra Brasmana, Kuala Perlis, on weekends from 27 May to the end of Sept 2023 with intentions to spread greater awareness among the Perlis locals
Oppsss… SiennyLovesDrawing 👩🏻 has missed the chance to pay a visit to this exhibition during her recent trip at Perlis, superb tight schedule. Hmm…Hope the same exhibition can be held again in Klang Valley in the near future & she has suggested to her friend, Mr Peter Ong ☺️
If you’re reading this & able to channel a sponsorship 💰 to host the similar physical exhibition at any location📍within Malaysia 🇲🇾, do get in touch by dropping a comment below. SiennyLovesDrawing would be happy to connect you to this amazing team to make it happen so have greater awareness then 💪🏻🙌🏻
Alternatively, an online mini-exhibition can be found via 🌐 https://eko-eko.org/en/gallery/wang-kelian/ with examples of the biodiversity of the area. Hmm…As expected, the online exhibition is somehow different from the physical exhibition as SiennyLovesDrawing has gained an understanding from Mr Peter
- Photography: Peter Ong
- Text: Peter Ong
- Illustrator: Jennifer P. Linggi
- Translations: Syamil Abd Rahman & Aini Hasanah Abd Mutalib
- Designer: Ng Siew Khian
More info via 🌐 https://eko-eko.org/en/gallery/wang-kelian/ & 🌐 http://www.rootsandshoots.my
Ohh ya…If you’ve not been to Perlis, why not plan your visit during The Visiting Perlis Year 2024-2025❓⁉️
It’s the 1️⃣st special tourism program implemented by the Perlis State Government with its objective to raise the image of Perlis to be better known for its attractive tourist areas, increase ⬆️ the number of tourist attendance to the State of Perlis whether domestic or international tourists, then strengthening the State of Pernis tourism product brand covering areas & tourism events, highlighting the State of Perlis as a good 💯👍🏻 ecotourism destination & increasing ⬆️ the overall income of state tourism industry players & further strengthening Gross Domestic Production (CDP) of the tourism sector
SiennyLovesDrawing 👩🏻 just can’t wait to be back soon to visit this naturally beautiful Perlis, how about you❓⁉️
You may check out 🌐 https://siennylovesdrawing.wordpress.com/?s=Perlis to plan your Perlis trip ya ☺️
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