Do you want to help Malaysia be sustainable?

Do you want to help journalists report on the environment and investigate how our natural resources are used?

Do you want to see more storytelling backed by robust research?

You can do all of that by signing up to be a Macaranga Supporter.

As a Supporter, you pay us to produce in-depth, critical stories about Malaysia’s environment and people. Just as importantly, this revenue helps keep our stories free for all to access and share.

In return, Macaranga Supporters receive rewards like newsletters, online forums, insights from our journalists, and discounts to physical events. 

Be a Macaranga Supporter today! And spread the word too.

Tier 1

RM11 per month 

  • Make our stories free for all
  • Newsletters (1/month; sample)
  • Field dispatches by Macaranga journalists
  • Online forums (1/month; sample)

Tier 2

RM28 per month

  • Make our stories free for all
  • Newsletters (1/month; sample)
  • Field dispatches by Macaranga journalists
  • Online forums (1/month; sample)
  • 25% discount on ticket to annual physical event
  • Annual digital magazine

Tier 3

RM50 per month

  • Make our stories free for all
  • Newsletters (1/month; sample)
  • Field dispatches by Macaranga journalists
  • Online forums (1/month; sample)
  • Annual digital magazine
  • 50% discount on ticket to annual physical event

Tier 4

RM100 per month

  • Make our stories free for all
  • Newsletters (1/month; sample)
  • Field dispatches by Macaranga journalists
  • Online forums (1/month; sample)
  • Annual digital magazine
  • Complimentary ticket to annual physical event

Macaranga will publish in-depth stories every month. We will take a one-month-break from publication in every 12-month period.

Newsletters: Editorial commentary on noteworthy news and research on the Malaysian environment and snippets of interesting new research. Delivered in the second full week of every month (except during the publication break). Sample here.

Field dispatches: Snippets of text, notes, and/or photos that reveal how our journalists are investigating their stories. Delivered monthly (except during the publication break).

Online forums: Discussion on the in-depth stories of the month, typically with journalists and experts/practitioners. Hosted via Zoom in the third full week of every month (except during the publication break). Sample here.

Digital annual magazine: A compilation of our stories and achievements for the year. Targeted delivery: early January of the next year.

Physical event: A gathering of Macaranga Supporters and invited environmental experts/practitioners to meet and share thoughts on the key ideas in environmental sustainability going forward.

Book voucher (Tiers 3 & 4 only): An e-Book Voucher will be emailed to you within 3 months of the end of the campaign period (22/7 - 21/8 2024). Please read terms & conditions on the voucher.

Tote bag (Tier 4 only): This will be delivered to you within 3 months of the end of the campaign period (22/7 - 21/8 2024). Postage costs apply.  We will be in touch once the campaign ends.

Last modified on 22 July 2023 00:00 GMT+8

These Terms and Conditions govern the relationship between Macaranga Media Sdn Bhd (“MMSB”) and each person ("Supporter) who signed up and paid for a Macaranga Supporter membership . By making a financial contribution (“Contribution”), the Supporter agrees and acknowledges that:

  1. The contribution is made subject to these Terms and Conditions, which shall constitute a legally binding agreement between the Supporter and MMSB (the “Agreement”).
  2. The Supporter is aged 18 or over.
  3. The Contribution is provided by the Supporter to MMSB to pay for the services rendered by MMSB to produce editorial and related content for www.macaranga.org and to receive the products specific to membership tiers and is subject to MMSB’s right to return any Contribution at its discretion.
  4. The Supporter has no rights to dictate the editorial policy or output of MMSB.
  5. MMSB is a private company limited by shares, and the Contribution is not a charitable donation and supporters are not eligible to any tax relief in Malaysia or worldwide.
  6. No party may receive funds on behalf of MMSB.

Processing of Contribution

  1. Each Contribution is individually refundable, and will be accounted for separately by MMSB.
  2. Once the Contribution is processed, MMSB is entitled to the full amount of the Contribution and the Supporter has no entitlement to the return of a Contribution in any circumstances other than as specified in these Terms and Conditions.

Rewards

1. Certain products or services ("Rewards") may have limited quantities. We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to limit the distribution of our Rewards to any person, geographic region or jurisdiction. We may exercise this right on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to limit the quantities of any Rewards. 

2. All descriptions of Rewards are subject to change at any time without notice, at the sole discretion of us.

3. We do not warrant that the quality of any Rewards obtained by you will meet your expectations.

4. Physical rewards will be shipped out at the next processing cycle after receiving your membership payment (at the latest each annual quarter).

5. For shipping outside of Malaysia, we will add shipping and handling fees, and all applicable sales tax.  Shipping and delivery dates are estimates only and cannot be guaranteed. We are not liable for any delays in shipments. 

6. The risk of loss and title for Rewards shipped pass to you upon delivery of the products to the carrier for shipment.

Refund of Contribution

  1. MMSB reserves the right to refuse and return any contribution in its absolute discretion, including without limitation where it believes that accepting the Contribution would conflict with the mission, values or interests of MMSB, and/or where, having regard to the source of the Contribution or intentions of the Supporter, MMSB considers that to accept the Contribution could damage the independence or reputation of MMSB or adversely affect the relationship of MMSB with other Supporters or stakeholders.
  2. Any refused and/or returned Contribution shall be repaid into the account from which the contribution was made.
  3. MMSB reserves the right to request from the Supporter their full name and any information that it considers necessary to determine the provenance of the Contribution.
  4. If the Supporter refuses to provide any information requested by MMSB under clause 1 in this section, MMSB may refuse and return the Contribution to the Supporter at its discretion.

Recurring payment

  1. Contributions will be recurring based on period selected by the Supporter unless and until it is ended by the Supporter before the end of the cycle or is ended by MMSB in accordance with the provisions of the section on Refund of Contribution.
  2. Recurring Contributions can be ended by the Supporters choosing so on their respective member profile pages.

Use of data

  1. MMSB abides by the Malaysian Personal Data Protection Act 2010. Please also read our site's Privacy Policy.

Liability

  1. Neither MMSB nor any affiliated person, employee, agent, officer or director shall be liable for any loss suffered by any supporter or other person arising out of or in connection with a contribution, whether direct or indirect, including loss of revenue, loss of profits, loss of business or anticipated savings, loss of use, loss of goodwill, loss of data, and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise, except in respect of any liability for death or personal injury or any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
  • For any queries about your Contribution, please email: admin@macaranga.org

Why Support Macaranga

Started in 2019, we are a small, independent media company that aims to fill a huge gap in the Malaysian media landscape. We want to enrich and push the boundaries of environmental journalism in the country. 

Since then, we have been working hard to produce the most insightful, balanced and relevant journalism to address the pressing issues related to the environment, climate crisis and sustainability. We focus on Malaysia because we are Malaysian and the issues here are local but also come from and impact way beyond our borders.

The outfit is wholly owned and run by co-founders Wong Siew Lyn and Law Yao Hua.

Read more.

  • You get specialist writing on environmental issues in Malaysia
  • You get original long-form storytelling with robust data journalism and an interactive experience
  • You feel the weeks of meticulous reporting and careful fact-checking
  • You will hear all sides of the story (if all sides respond to us)
  • All stories are absolutely free – no ads, no paywall (OK, we have one affiliate link)
  • You get some stories in Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese (and occasionally other languages)
  • You get to support our training of new environmental journalists and those in other newsrooms
  • You get to support the curating of commentaries by environmental experts
  • We consciously include perspectives from indigenous communities, women, youth, non-urbanites and East Malaysia

Awards

  • Malaysian Press Institute-PETRONAS Journalism Award, Gold Prize for Excellence in Environmental Journalism, 2022 and 2021.
  • Malaysian Press Institute-PETRONAS Journalism Award, Silver Prize for Excellence in Investigative Reporting, 2022
  • Malaysian Press Institute-PETRONAS Journalism Award, Bronze Prize for Outstanding Features, 2022
  • Sigma Award, 2023  (coveted global prize in data journalism)
  • Said Zahari Award, 2021

Grants/Fellowships

  • Environmental Journalism Network Grant 2022, 2021, 2020
  • Rainforest Investigations Network Fellowship 2022, 2021
  • Rainforest Journalism Fund, 2020

It's true that journalism is struggling financially not only in Malaysia, but globally.

But we believe it's a force for good. However, it's expensive to produce.

A story can cost up to RM5,000 to produce and 1 to 3 months.

We also believe in paying our contributing writers well, at RM1 per word, equivalent to regional rates.

Our stories get 5,000 to 7,000 page views, but fewer than 3% pay to support us to produce those stories. We do get grants but most don't cover salaries.

We need everyone's help to keep our journalism and Malaysian journalism going!

What Readers Say

Macaranga highlights super localized environmental justice topics many might not know about. Their thorough investigations are broken down into digestible parts, making it a good starting point for young people to learn more and possibly ignite action.
-- Nurfatin Hamzah, Co-founder, Youths United for Earth (YUFE)
Proud and happy to be a Macaranga supporter. We need an active enthusiastic and happy team of scientifically correct and professional journalists like Macaranga’s to open our eyes and appreciate fully the actions and results of complex interactions and wonders of nature as well as critical environmental services .
-- Chee Poh Soon, plantation crop agronomist
Macaranga plays a crucial role in Malaysian environmental journalism, offering in-depth features that delve into critical issues. Their environmental reporting is consistently insightful, and meticulously researched. We are always in awe at Macaranga’s dedication to environmental awareness and knowledge dissemination.
-- David ST Loh, publisher & photojournalist
It is an important source of clear and independent reporting on environmental issues. It helps to democratise highly complicated issues - by making them easier to think about and understand.
-- Kiu Jia Yaw, lawyer
Independent of government ("status quo maintenance") and NGO ("eye on fashion-based, politically correct funding opportunities") biases
-- John Payne, wildlife researcher
The articles published help us in keeping up to date with environmental news we don't work on. Also serves as a potential avenue to communicate important messages to the public.
-- Ann Ghani, researcher
Malaysia is fortunate to have a news platform that shares thoroughly researched information on the Malaysian state of the environment, particularly those that are not often captured by the mainstream media.
-- Dr Jarina Mohd Jani, bio-cultural conservationist
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F.A.Q.

We aim to make revenue from Macaranga Supporters our main source of income. Doing so will best align our financial interests with our loyalty and obligations to our readership. We do not accept advertisements or corporate funding.

Here is a breakdown of Macaranga's yearly expenses:

  • Editors, journalists, graphic designers, translators, photographers: 88%
  • Reporting expenses: 6%
  • Magazine and events: 3%
  • Website and digital tools: 2%
  • Legal and accounting: 1%

Please read our Terms and conditions above.

No, it is not. This is not a donation, but a payment to a private limited company, Macaranga Media Sdn Bhd, for products and services that are included in a membership.

Yes. At any time during your membership, members can upgrade to a higher tier or downgrade to a lower one. Upgrades take effect immediately; downgrades take effect only after at the end of the current payment cycle (i.e., members will not lose any benefits they had already paid for). 

Please read our Terms and Conditions above.

You can end your membership at anytime and you will not be charged again when your current cycle ends. There will be no refund of paid memberships.

Please read our Terms and conditions above.

Please email us at admin@macaranga.org

Be A Macaranga Supporter

Like our stories?

You can help us do more.
Sign up to be a Macaranga Supporter by 21 Aug for extra goodies!