Malaysia - A newly industrialising country

What industries contribute to the Malaysian Economy?

Malaysia, situated in South East Asia, is a Newly Industrialising Country (NIC). This therefore means that they are beginning to catch up to the huge cache of trade monopolized by the likes of India, China, and the “Asian Tigers”. The biggest industries in Malaysia are electronics, tourism (eco-tourism, etc), natural resources (timber, tin mining), agro-based resources (rubber and palm oil plantations), and other export-based manufacturing activities. The palm oil industry, and logging is perhaps one of the most controversial of Malaysian exports, with the country, in the 1980’s being the biggest exporter of wood in the world. In recent times, demand, as well as competition, for timber and palm oil, has made Malaysia convert more forest land for these activities. Unfortunately, illegal logging and palm oil plantations have been going on, despite the government’s efforts to stop this.

Because in Malaysia there is a good infrastructure, and there is a good work ethic, western companies are starting to base their factories there, such as Dyson, Dell, and Mattel. Offices and workers are also cheaper in Malaysia (due to the conversion rates mostly), as the average UK worker’s salary is £9 per hour, and in the UK, the rent for the average office (per square metre), is £114. In Malaysia, however, the average worker’s salary is £3 per hour, and an office is £38 per square metre. Health tourism is another big industry that attracts patients with unique problems, to come to countries like this, for their treatment. I think the reason for this is that in more developed countries, hospitals have lots of machinery and highly advanced equipment. While this is great in most cases, it also results in doctors being trained in “how to operate the machine”, rather than actually using their own medical skills. In developing countries like Malaysia and India (for example) however, these countries cannot afford to have all the hi-tech machines that developed countries have (in some cases this can prove fatal though), this means that while they do have the vital bits of kit for a hospital, they personally, are often more skilled doctors.

How does this affect orangutans and pygmy elephants?

Most main contributors to the Malaysian economies do not affect the life style of orangutans and pygmy elephants. E.g. Dell laptops, Dyson vacuum cleaners, Mattel, some of the top companies in the world, are based in Malaysia but with little link to the Orangutans and pygmy elephants.

 But, the two industries that do affect them are the logging and palm oil plantations.

Due to the high rates of deforestation, native species are being displaced; mostly due to loss of their natural food resources; in the process some are killed by humans, or taken as pets; which ultimately leads to family members being separated, especially mothers from children.

Malaysia produces 51% of the world's palm oil, making up 6% of the country's total exports and 10% of its gross domestic product. 12 million acres of rainforest have been cut down on the island of Borneo (arguably, the larger proportion on the Indonesian side). According to the website of the Malaysian Timber Industry Board, the Plantation Industries Ministry aims to develop 375,000 hectares of forest plantation for timber at an annual planting rate of 25,000 hectares per year for the next 15 years. This is an alarming rate. According to studies, the orangutan might be extinct in the wild within 10 years.

Orangutans have been caught right in the middle of this, they are the true victims. Many are captured and kept as pets, others are killed and used for traditional medicines, and others still, are killed just because they get in the way! But for a lucky few, they are recaptured and brought to Orangutan sanctuaries, such as the “Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary”, in Sabah, one of the states of Malaysia on Borneo. The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre was set up in 1964 to rehabilitate orphaned baby orangutans. Set in the lush 4,300-hectare Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, a Centre under the administration of the Wildlife Department of Sabah. While orangutan rehabilitation is still the primary goal at Sepilok, it also focuses on public education on conservation, research and assistance. This is though, only one step towards an ideal, and co-operative world, where orangutans can live in their natural habitat, which are the jungles of Borneo

Pygmy Elephants are the other species in the most danger of becoming extinct. Mammals of their size require large feeding grounds and large breeding populations with an average male to female ratios. Shrinking forests have also brought the elephants into more frequent contact with people, increasing human - elephant conflict in the region. The large blocks of forests they require are divided into smaller chunks by encroachment in forest areas and conversion of natural forests to commercial plantations, mostly illegally. Human disturbances within forests such as logging, increased agriculture, building of palm oil mills with associated settlements and hunting are rapidly breaking up contact between sub populations, as well as minimizing the areas of forests available for each small group to live and feed on.

But the government of Malaysia also has its hands tied, and has several constraints. The government is getting a huge boost to the developing economy of Malaysia through the palm oil industry, but they also realise that this is not sustainable. For example, there is a lack of resources in to catch poachers. There aren’t any local experts, but I did a bit of research and found out that in Oxford Brookes, they offer a “Primate Conservation” course, perhaps more developed countries should send experts to work with the government of Malaysia, or even offer scholarships to take such courses. But the government has not been entirely negligent; they have taken measures to curb illegal trading and to improve its legislations. For example, timber that is logged legally, now bear an official “stamp” that certifies it was logged from a sustainable area. This important step is to inform buyers not to buy illegal goods on the cheap. I’m not trying to say that the Malaysian government have totally clean hands, but I’m saying that it is not entirely their fault. You must ask: “Where is this demand coming from?” The answer is: YOU. After all, 1 in 10 UK supermarket goods contain palm oil. This whole situation could be compared to what is going on in the Amazon rainforest. If buyers stop buying unapproved timber with lower prices, the demand for timber will go down, and people will stop illegally cutting down habitats, food sources for orangutans and pygmy elephants; and some of the oldest forests in the world.