[Updated 3 September 2026]
WELCOME to Macaranga, a journalism portal covering the environment and sustainability in Malaysia. We produce in-depth journalistic features on issues and build capacity in environmental journalism.
Our objective is to be relevant, insightful and accurate, and to fill a gap in producing local content for Malaysian and global readers.
Malaysian media coverage of the environment and sustainability has, and continues to be eclipsed by a focus on economic development, in line with national aspirations.
Meanwhile, global coverage of Malaysian environmental issues is select and scattered.
This is despite Malaysia’s rich natural resources and growing economic costs of biodiversity loss and climate change.
Hence, Macaranga.
Research-based journalism
Launched in 2019, we adhere to rigorous journalistic principles to produce deeply-researched, engaging and accurately-reported stories about environmental issues – stories which are significant nationally and beyond.
We dig deep into our experience, specialist knowledge, communication skills and networks within and outside Malaysia. We collaborate with different groups and aim for strategic collaborations.
We strive to keep this digital, interactive platform a source of reliable and relevant information on Malaysia’s environment.
Ultimately, we aim to inform, persuade, educate and connect policy-makers, environmental groups, scientists, businesses, journalists and the public to jointly pursue sustainable development.
Training and mentorship
Training is core to what we do. From newbies to professional journalists, we design, coach and mentor. The goal is to build the environmental journalism ecosystem.
Our workshops focus on good storytelling based on journalistic principles, and cover basic environmental journalism as well as specialities as data journalism, content creation, and photojournalism.
Our mentorships run from 3 months to a year long, and have covered just energy transition, wildlife trade and crime, and climate disinformation and indigenous people.
Besides our core target group of journalists, we have run workshops and programmes for youth groups, civil society, and university students, both in Malaysia and regionally.
Social media and outreach
We adapt story findings into engaging social media content for the broader public. With news largely consumed on these platforms, we apply the same journalistic principles of accuracy, relevance and verification in our content. And we marry this with creativity, strong visuals, and sharp story-telling.
To unpack our stories and further the discussion, we ocasionally organise and participate in online and in-person forums and events as well as newsletters and mailers. Our flagship Semai & Tuai in-person gatherings are always a success in drawing and providing a forum for diverse stakeholders who might otherwise never meet, to talk about key issues.
The team
The outfit is run by Wong Siew Lyn who has 35 years’ experience in journalism and communications locally and internationally. She draws on a talented pool of journalists, photographers, data and graphic visualisers, as well as media trainers.
The team this year includes social media strategist Low Yi Ven, journalist and project manager Lee Kwai Han, journalists Liani MK and Aidila Razak, media trainer and mentor Nadiah Rosli, mentor Emily Ding, and data and graphic visualisers Irma Garnesia and Louis Lugas.
In our mentorships, we worked with Rebecca Chong and Patrick Mosinoh Jr (the Star and TVS), Firdaus Azil (Astro Awani), Samantha Ho (then Eco-Business), and Sheridan Mahavera (Kini Lab, Malaysiakini).
Macaranga is also part of newsroom networks Asian Dispatch, the Environmental Reporting Collective, and Covering Climate Now. Siew Lyn is a member of the Media Council of Malaysia.
Our funding is almost entirely from grants, and our funders include Earth Journalism Network, Pulitzer Center, International Media Support, Klima Action Malaysia, the Embassy of France in Malaysia, and Habitat Foundation. We run a Supporters programme as well.
History
This year was transitional for Macaranga as a co-founder departed for a steady income and to build a new media venture. Science writer Law Yao Hua met Siew Lyn in 2018 and they both decided to do something to fill this gap in in-depth environmental journalism in Malaysia.
For 6 years, they were together the brains and brawn behind this venture, not only in producing and training, but building a community of readers around this venture. Like the pioneer species after which this portal is named, we regrew local environmental journalism.
But life happens, and Yao Hua has departed but remains a good friend. Siew Lyn spent the last quarter of 2025 deeply analysing what we do and mean, and gathering feedback from all Macaranga‘s stakeholders. The word was to continue. And so, we are. Made-in-Malaysia journalism for the planet and people.
Yao-Hua Law is a freelance science journalist in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has written for Science, Science News, The Atlantic, and Mosaic. He runs a podcast on science stories in Southeast Asia, and co-founded Macaranga, an environmental journalism portal focused on Malaysia. He loves durians and could spend hours watching insects on plants.
SL Wong has always focussed been been in journalism and communications for 35 years. Her focus is on the environment and sustainability and her work appears in the print, broadcast and electronic media. Her clients have ranged from media, book publishers, corporations, government and development agencies and NGOs. She wishes she has the time to digitise her slide collection.
Report card
2024-2025: We’ll find time to get this up!
2023: Macaranga Annual 2023 (everything, everywhere, all at once)
2022: Macaranga Annual 2022 (look, we made a pretty report card)
2021: Yao Hua was selected as one of 13 Pulitzer Centre Rainforest Investigation Network Fellows to write on forest-use in Peninsular Malaysia for one year. Siew Lyn edited. Siew Lyn was also awarded an Environmental Journalism Network (EJN) Grant to cover seahorse conservation. Yao Hua edited.
This year, we commissioned translators to translate selected stories into Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese, with Siew Lyn editing the BM, and Yao Hua, the Chinese. Macaranga stories have been republished by local media such as Malaysiakini and Sin Chew Jit Poh and regional media Southeast Asia Globe, China Dialogue and South China Morning Post. We have also been cited by the Malay Mail, the Vibes, and Mongabay, among others.
The Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia invited us to present and discuss the analyses and findings in our story “Forest Management in Peninsular Malaysia – You Decide” (Read about it on our blog).
The team continues with our monthly slot on BFM89.9 Radio’s Earth Matters where we do a wrapup of environmental news, and we have appeared on Ai FM and TV station Astro Awani’s Consider This talk show.
We trained and mentored our second cohort of 8 new environmental journalists under our Sprouts programme. Under our mentorship, one of our Sprouts journalists, Kymberley Chu, won an EJN grant to work on a data journalism story. We thank the Soroptomists International of Bentong for supporting our training workshop. And we thank our readers for supporting the programme to the tune of RM5,844.99, all of which pays the Sprouts journalists.
Finally, we ran our first Macaranga Supporters campaign to help cover Macaranga’s costs for 2022. A total of 93 Supporters generously contributed RM26,900.
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2020: Yao Hua and Siew Lyn were co-grantees of the Pulitzer Centre Rainforest Journalism Grant for a series on drivers of deforestation in Peninsular Malaysia. Yao Hua was the principal investigator and Siew Lyn edited. Siew Lyn was also awarded funding from the Earth Journalism Network for three of a five-part series on Covid-19 impacts on environmental sectors in Malaysia. Yao Hua edited.
Macaranga stories have been republished by local media such as Malaysiakini and The Star and by regional media the Southeast Asia Globe and China Dialogue. The team has a monthly slot on BFM89.9 Radio’s Earth Matters where we do a wrapup of environmental news, and we appear from time to time on TV station Astro Awani’s Consider This talk show.
We also trained and mentored our first cohort of 7 new environmental journalists under our Sprouts programme.
We want to be as relevant as possible, so we welcome comments and feedback. Do also tell us what topics you feel we should cover here. And follow us on our socials. For digests, subscribe to our e-mailers for free.
(New rates kick in after the campaign period on 21 Aug 2024)
Scientific references:
Govaerts, R., et al (2019). World Checklist of Euphorbiaceae. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://wcsp.science.kew.org/ Retrieved 18 July 2019.
Nor Aishah Mazlan, Ahmed Mediani, Faridah Abas, et al., “Antioxidant, Antityrosinase, Anticholinesterase, and Nitric Oxide Inhibition Activities of Three Malaysian Macaranga Species,” The Scientific World Journal, vol. 2013, Article ID 312741, 8 pages, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/312741.
Huge thanks to some generous folks:
- Web designer Chong Su Weii (suu.work{at}gmail{dot}com) for helping us get this website up at cost price
- For setting up the business, sponsorship from the inimitable Kerk Boon Leng, Lee Siew Ching, Procode Management Services and the all-round-nice-guy startup pro Izwan Zakaria
- The wonderful Ruby Subramaniam for digital marketing advice