SHAH ALAM, March 30 — The Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah witnessed the signing of a Conservation Agreement for the Penjaga Gunung project today, under the Forest Conservation Certificate (FCC) in Selangor.
The project will empower Orang Asli communities from Gerachi, Pertak, and Ulu Batu in the 108,000-hectare Hutan Warisan Diraja Selangor, where they will be trained as nature guides and community rangers through programmes conducted with Universiti Putra Malaysia and the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
In his speech, His Highness said Selangor views its forests not as a barrier to development, but as a vital asset that helps regulate the climate, protect rivers, and serve as a defence against increasingly volatile weather.
The state is strengthening forest governance, restoring degraded areas and placing communities at the centre of conservation efforts.
“We hold particular respect for the Orang Asli, whose generations-old guardianship has long protected our hills, headwaters and ecosystems. We also take pride in a rising generation that answers the call of the forest,” Tengku Amir said.
His Highness noted that through the Selangor Youth Community, young people now stand alongside Orang Asli and local communities as modern “penjaga gunung”, helping to protect forests, rivers and the state’s resilience.
The Raja Muda was speaking at the 'FCC As Malaysia’s Trusted Platform for Conservation Finance' programme, attended by Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup and the British High Commissioner to Malaysia Ajay Sharma.
In his speech, Arthur said the Penjaga Gunung project is one of the key initiatives under the FCC and is expected to nurture a new generation of forest guardians committed to protecting the country’s natural heritage.
“The project addresses real challenges such as unstable incomes and reduced forest-based livelihoods. Through training and formal recognition as mountain guides, it builds skills, leadership and sustainable income opportunities,” he said.
The Conservation Agreement, signed between Malaysia Forest Fund, CIMB Islamic, Vantage Data Centres, and Your Idea Maker, is expected to create sustainable income through community-based ecotourism, forest restoration, and biodiversity monitoring, while preserving traditional ecological knowledge.
