Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam (PEKA) Malaysia is an NGO established in 2010 by environmentalist Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil, who also serves as its president.
The acronym, PEKA, means sensitive in the Malay language and reflects PEKA members’ attitude and commitment toward its cause of preserving, conserving and protecting the natural environment and all its various biodiversity.
PEKA Malaysia was formed with the vision to save the oldest rainforest with all its biodiversity from extinction, as part of the total living environment for people, and its mission is to be a force in ensuring the preservation, protection and conservation of the natural environment.
“Protection and preservation of forest is PEKA’s primary focus as we believe that without forest, there will be no other life whether directly or indirectly in the scope of tropical countries such as Malaysia,” Shariffa shared with @Forest.
With regards to the Malaysian public’s level of awareness when it comes to environmental issues and conservation efforts, she said: “It is increasing as the public in Malaysia is experiencing long-term man-caused disasters directly from logging, mining and other activities.”
However, she noted the process of awareness to eco-activism is slow and the public is also of the opinion that NGOs will be able to solve the problems by protesting.
“Public must realise that without their support or if they remain indifferent, NGOs will fail.”
According to PEKA, apart from logging, other environmental issues in Malaysia include uncontrolled reclamation, coal-fired power plants, micro dams, fresh/saltwater sand mining, imports of toxic plastic, slow change from unrecyclable plastic to eco-friendly materials, renewable energy transformation, sea and freshwater pollution as well as over-fishing by local and foreign vessels.
