However, the jungles of Sabah and their inhabitants have come under threat due to excessive logging and human development.

The damage done is severe, but it is not completely undoable as a team from UKM Bangi have planted over 1,300 new trees in the Kinabatangan region under the Green Waqaf Initiative.

While this is a small step in recovering what has been lost, it has already produced positive results.

FMT Lifestyle had the opportunity to speak with Danial Hakim Tsu, 28, one of the co-leaders leading the environmental project.

“We started this project in June this year,” he said. “’Waqaf’ means endowment, and normally it refers to acts of charity for institutions like schools,” he said.

Green Waqaf is a spin on this concept, where instead of contributing to local institutions, participants can instead aid the environment.

With a minimum donation of RM35, said Danial, a single tree would be planted in their name in one of seven allocated areas.

To date, there have been over 160 public contributors and over 10 organisations who have contributed over RM85,000 to the cause.

Other than restoring lost forests, the Green Waqaf Initiative aims to conserve native endangered wildlife species.

“Have you ever heard of the Big Five of Borneo? These are five iconic species native to Borneo that are currently endangered,” he said.

The Five are the pygmy elephant, the proboscis monkey, the orangutan, the rhinoceros hornbill and also the estuarine crocodile.

In addition to providing these creatures a source of food, Danial said that restoring the forest also helps provide them with shelter.

He cited the example of the orangutan, who often commute via the tree canopy. “When there are bald spots in the forest, they have to go down to the forest floor to reach the other side.”

When on the ground, however, orangutans are often rendered vulnerable to threats such as wild dogs and wild boars. Hence, by planting tree saplings, these bald spots can eventually be lush forests once again where orangutans can safely reside.

Additionally, said Danial, the project is also providing the local Orang Sungai and Orang Kampung Sukau a source of income.

Members of the community are employed by the project to plant and care for the tree saplings, some of which are fruit-bearing and can be harvested.

While this is the first environmentally-focused waqaf project in Malaysia, Danial said that the team actually received external inspiration.

“The Green Waqaf concept actually came from Indonesia; they were the first ones to do it. So, we adopted the idea from them,” he said.

Funnily enough, before the project was even conceived, Danial himself had never been to Sabah. Now that he has, he said: “Sabah is breathtaking.”

During the course of the project, donors were allowed to pick one of three packages. Donors who gave RM35 were allocated one tree, RM105 three trees and RM175 five trees.

This one-time payment will cover up to four years of tree maintenance, and pay the wages of local caretakers.

Danial said they have received some strange requests, with one donor requesting they plant durian trees.

“No, donors can’t choose the trees that are planted. The trees that we plant are selected based on where they are being planted and the area’s weather,” he said.

“So, if we are planting a tree on the riverbank, we will select something suitable like a mangrove sapling instead.”

When asked what challenges the Green Waqaf Initiative faced, project secretary, Erna Smith Epoi, 27, said that Malaysians are hesitant when it comes to committing.

“They come with a lot of questions. ‘Are you genuinely doing this?’ or ‘Are you collecting this just for the project?’”

She does not blame people’s sense of caution, given the number of scams out there, but it is indeed hard to gain people’s trust.

“We tell them that it’s okay to donate to us and that they can follow us on social media as well. We are very transparent with what we are doing.”

Still, Danial and the team remain hopeful of more support. “We’re living in Malaysia and we’re all family. If Sabah grows, Malaysia grows too.”

Find out more about the Green Waqaf Initiative here.