So here’s my year in a few photos.

Uphill journey? Or a long way down (to rock bottom)?: Mike and I scaling down Mt Kinabalu (photo taken by our guide).

2011 started with me climbing Mt Kinabalu in January, the highest peak in Malaysia. Having missed an opportunity to ascend the famous mountain during my undergraduate days, I promised myself to jump at the next opportunity to do so. And jump I did, when I won 2 tickets to Kota Kinabalu via a Twitter Firefly contest. My winning tweet? “Borneo Boys are hot!”

But climbing Mt Kinabalu was nothing short of misery for me. Let’s just say I cherished the experience more from seeing the photos than when I was actually there!

What I didn’t know then that it truly was a precursor of my year to come.

(Not to discourage anyone from going up the mountain; it’s truly an experience. Whether enjoyed or not would depend on your expectations and previous trekking experiences).

Uphill all the way: Orang Asli children walking up next to a swidden, in Kg Tenlan, Betau.

Like the signage below, the end of the road seemed a very long way to go. And it wasn’t smooth most of the way.

Long and rough adventure: (left) Printed signage directing the way to a village for the launch of a micro-hydro dam project which said, “Tg Rambai – Jauh lagi” / “Tg Rambai, A long way ahead.” (right) For interior villages with a decent trail, a motorbike cuts the journey time in half. As well as the life expectancy for the villagers.

Without getting into the details of the doom and gloom; the long year was filled with challenges and as corny as this sounds – self discovery. Sometimes when working in the field of human rights, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees.

Or lose the forest altogether?: Logging site in the Orang Asli’s traditional land (Kelantan).

I had also spent a month nomadic in-between moving from an apartment to a place which I’m currently house-sitting for a friend.

Home improvements: (left) A Semai man working on his roof. (right) Leaves from a palm being weaved to be used as roofing material. Photo taken in Woh and Kg Sagong respectively.

Health-wise, 2011 had been a very poor year. After a string of frequent bouts of illnesses, I decided to place more emphasis on better nutrition and fitness. This year, I plan to read up more on the topic and further advocate eating real and wholesome foods like this wild forest product below.

Healthy eating: Bunches of petai, a type of bean, just out from the forest awaiting to be taken by the middle-man for sale in towns. The sale of Petai is an important source of income for the Semai people in Woh, where the photo was taken.

It was strangely at rock bottom, when I was unwell and demotivated about work, that I found back my motivation.

A sewang performance depicting a healing ritual by the Orang Asli entourage from Peninsular Malaysia during the 2011 World Indigenous Day celebrations in Sabah (East Malaysia/ Borneo).

And realized ever more so (and found comfort in) that I am part and parcel of a large community which would help me when I’m down and to whom I credit my little successes and victories to.

A big community gathering: A feast of rice and tapioca cooked is various traditional methods was prepared for lunch during a mapping workshop which gathered over a 100 representatives from different villages in Kelantan.

2011 was not a great year, but it was possibly one of my most important year. I’m really glad to be able to greet a new year in good health together with great friends, colleagues and family.

Thank you (reader) for being part of that journey and I’m looking forward to a mad, crazy and exciting 2012!

A large crowd of lawyers (and members from civil society) gathering at the Royal Lake Garden, Kuala Lumpur.

Many more lawyers joining the crowd. They may look real smart in their suits, but they suffered the most under the noon heat.

Human Rights lawyer Edmund Bon, motivates the crowd with shouts of “Bebas! Bebas! Bebas himpun!” (Freedom! Freedom! Freedom to assemble!)

Arul from Parti Socialist Malaysia (PSM) giving the iconic fist.

All set to march

Reaching the cop barricade.

Right in front of the Parliament House, an anti-gay group gathered to protest against the lawyers claiming the Bar Council was marching in support of gay rights. The group shouted that they would not allow the lawyers to enter parliament.  But lawyers just walked right by, escorted by the police.

Like a Christmas sale gone bad as everyone rushes in.

The 10-lawyers representing the Malaysian Bar Council walks into the Parliament House. The metal detector was rather ornamental in purpose as cameras sent it beeping at every passing of a member from the media.

The memorandum is received by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Liew Vui Keong.

Anwar Ibrahim, de facto leader of Keadilan (the People’s Justice Party) receiving the memorandum.

Lim Chee Wee, president of the Bar Council, thanks the police.

The Bar Council team walking out of the Parliament House, after getting a feel of a day in the life of Kim Kardashian stalked by video and still cameras.

Walking back pass the barricades to join the crowd patiently waiting outside.

“Today, we proved we can assemble peacefully,” Lim Chee Wee addressing the large crowd before the group dispersed.

Aunty Bersih (seated in a navy blue and white flower print shirt) in a group discussion after the memorandum was handed. Feeling like a teenybooper fan girl when I spotted her, I couldn’t resist taking photos of her (and a few close-ups which sent her giggling when she noticed my starstruck look).

The Peaceful Assembly Bill was later passed with some amendments despite the strong objections.

More information on why the Malaysian Bar Council are against the Peaceful Assembly Bill here.

It was my first time attending a demonstration of that scale and I must have spent two weeks prior glued to Twitter and Facebook for updates and reading everything I could to prepare for the worst:  the Idiot’s Guide to 9th July Marches, the effects of chemical and tear gas, and the Malaysian Bar’s Know Your Rights pamphlet (in case of arrest). I even activated Prey, a GPS locating app on my phone and gave access to my friends who were not attending the rally in case I went missing.  Nothing could match the excitement and adrenaline building up to the rally and the feeling of standing up to your constitutional rights as a Malaysian.

My goal was also to photograph the rally – I would drown myself in chemical spray if I didn’t! However, things weren’t looking too good with reports of army tanks being sent to the city the night before. Not knowing what to expect, I compromised with bringing my backup camera, the D70s, and the only wide angle lens I had at the time – an 18mm f2.8, fully prepared to have it smashed. Thankfully, that did not happen.

(from left) Pocket size handbook on knowing your rights, (middle) some stuff I packed, the box of baking soda was just for illustration purposes, lingerie was to pack on top of all everything just in case I got stopped and my bag is checked, to hopefully embarrass the officer to stop searching, (right) artistic impression of what could happen, sent to my friends the night before as a joke following news of the arrest of people involved in the rally.

Despite all the preparation, I truly felt like a total mess. When we eventually entered the city and joined a group, I separated from my friends and like a boss, walked right up to where the face-off was happening.

According to friends who are seasoned rally photographers, as a photographer, we can position ourselves on the police’s side. But in the heat of the moment, and me anticipating warnings from the police before they gave chase (as is normal procedure at the smaller demonstrations I’ve attended), I stood dumbfounded as the cops came charging without warning.

A field commander motivating the demonstrators. The street echoed cries of "Hidup, hidup. Hidup Rakyat!" (long live the people).

“Oh, sh*t!” I said in my head.

Looking back, I figured I could have stayed back and shot the chase. But at the sight of baton-wielding cops charging at you in full speed, with a heavy dose of chemical gas marring your judgement,  I ran for my life like never before!

During the chase, I had a choice of either running down the straight ahead, or turning left into an alley. In movies, actors usually take to the alleys, so I opted for that. Feeling like Aladdin in flight after stealing an apple from the market, I ran like a much clumsier and slower version of him, being squeeshed between some big elderly ladies.  I was not very clever either in wearing ballet flats, which had always worked very well before. However, when it’s rain-soaked and you’re panicking and sprinting with people shouting “Lari! Lari!” (Run! Run!) behind you – it made no difference than running in Japanese slippers!

And all the while, I mentally debated with myself; “Stop to take a photo!” “No, get the hell away before you get beaten up!”

I compromised by shooting while running. Clearly, not the brightest thing to do.

Fleeing after the FRU team gave chase without warning.

The chase ended with the rain, after which everyone got back on the streets to regroup.

There were many women on the streets, a sight I took to comfort.

Some people tweeted that helicopters were dropping gas bombs. Lucky the many that went over us did not.

After that climax, we eventually met up with the rest of the demonstrators at Petaling Street without incident, and dispersed peacefully.

Fellow photographer gives me the peace sign.

The many uses of the Malaysian flag.

For most of the time there, I felt like a rally tourist cum noob, except when I was chased down, during which I felt like a criminal.  So I was really pleased that some of the photos came of use when it got picked up by Mobile World magazine to complement an excellent article by Kashminder Singh on the significance of mobile phones during Bersih 2.0, which he called the ‘third force in media.’

Here’s the article from the August 2011 issue.

*posted with permission

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In the memorandum they protested against the new land policy which will would entitle them to only 2 acres of land per family, a lot less than their traditional land which they’ve lived on for generations. They also wanted the Chief Minister to apologize for describing them as squatters in the media a few weeks back.

A stronghold of 300 Orang Asli from Negeri Sembilan waited for 3-hours, insisting that the Chief Minister accepts the memorandum himself, as he does with other groups. He eventually spared 8-minutes of his time to accept the memorandum.

I mostly handled the video camera but grabbed a few shots on still when I could.

The crowd assembling at the Wisma Negeri dan Dewan Undangan in Seremban town.

A young Orang Asli boy wears the poster "Orang Asli ada Hak" (Orang Asli have Rights) as a hat. (Poster text: Recognize the Orang Asli's traditional territories).

Over 300 Orang Aslis attended the demonstration, including supporters from Malacca, Pahang and Selangor.

The noon sun beats down on everyone as they light an incense to seek blessings from their ancestors.

Women, old and young stood for 3-hours while they waited for the Chief Minister to receive their memorandum.

A passerby reads the signages on his way into the building.

The crowd was kept motivated with traditional songs which highlighted their struggle as they waited.

While some of the demonstrators sat down to rest and shade themselves from the sun, some of the women, fueled by their passion, remained standing and sang to motivate one another.

Ezuli Langkap speaks to reporters while waiting for the Chief Minister to come down.

The 7 representatves waited impatiently for the Chief Minister to arrive to accept the memorandum, after failed attempts of several representatives of the Chief Minister who offered to accept the memorandum on behalf of him.

Check out COAC’s Facebook page for news updates and more photos on the event:

The conversion of land into oil palm estates is rampant, badly affecting many indigneous communities who have lost much of their traditional land (and thus their livelihood) to large corporations.

Seen as a crop that will bring economic development to rural areas by the government – the expansion of oil palm plantations does not seem to be halting anytime soon despite protests from grassroot organizations and environmentalists.

With much of the workforce coming from neighboring countries, the well-being of these workers widely differ from estate to estate. In the worst cases, the conditions can be akin to modern slavery.

Below are some photos of the workers in the estate, all taken in 2007.

Workers at the oil palm estate get onto trucks early in the morning to be transported to their area of duty in the estate.

An oil palm harvester marking the amount he harvested today. He is paid by piece rate.

A worker washing up.

The last couple of weeks were packed with a “road show” of workshops as we were in the phase of verifying the community maps mapped out by villagers from the 10 case studies areas. It was an enjoyable time working with Yusri Ahon, vice-president of the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia (JOAS) for Peninsular Malaysia as well as Shafie Dris, film-maker and winner of last year’s Freedom Film Fest for his documentary titled Hak Dinafikan (Denied Rights).

Below are some images from the recent trips to Kuala Koh in Taman Negara, Kelantan, home to a community of semi-nomadic Batek people. They are one of the communities mapping out their traditional land. Community-mapping is important as it is done by the community living there and it helps define the boundaries of their land.

Despite high illiteracy within that community, the Batek are very aware of their rights as an indigenous minority and articulate it well, opting to maintain their integrity and pride for their culture and heritage than to assimilate into the mainstream population. Here’s a glimpse from the last couple of trips.

A young Batek girl by the Pertang river. The community living there depend on the river for cleaning and bathing.

Good roads leading to the village, as it is the road to the Taman Negara Kuala Koh (Kelantan) headquarters

A family relaxing in a typical palm thatch shelter.

Preparing a meal over firewood.

Sitting by the doorsteps of government given brick houses which cramps 3 families into one tiny house. Traditional houses are often built alongside these houses as many do not like staying in the brick houses which have poor ventilation can be very hot and stuffy.

Abu, an elder in his 80s still strong and fit, chopping firewood.

Entertainment in the village that depends on power generators for electricity.

The forest canopy in Taman Negara (National Park), one of the oldest rainforest in the world. (below) The headman of Kuala Koh showing one of his fruit trees, now within Taman Negara.

A team leading the way to map their boundaries, walking through the Taman Negara National Park which was established on their traditional land.

Alfa (middle), a Temiar from a village not too far away, helping to teach the guys from Kuala Koh how to use the GPS.

(left) The headman of Kuala Koh showing one of his fruit trees now within the Taman Negara National Park

Playing around in the mid-day sun.

Seeking shelter from the sudden downpour.

The Batek are one of the 19 Orang Asli ethnic groups and are classified under the Negrito division of the Orang Asli.

Typical decorations and adornments for Batek women

She was really lovely and gave me some cotton seeds to plant. They looked like little black rocks with white cotton candy puffed around it. I considered planting it in the balcony of my 20-story high apartment but I think it would not survive under my care. So until I’m ready to green my apartment, I’m contented just looking back at these photos.

Over the weekend, I took some product photos for Elevyn using my gorgeous sister in-law as a model. The products will be launched under a special project called INFLUENCE.

INFLUENCE is a UNHCR-ELEVYN special project that brings together urban designers, refugees and Internet users to come up with a range of contemporary, high-quality handmade items which will be sold in limited quantities via the web.

Follow Elevyn’s Facebook page to be the first to know when it launches!

I daresay I’ve probably missed a number of opportune moments to take river shots. We go to the river to bathe in the evenings and I normally leave my camera behind out of sheer exhaustion from travelling, fear that I might slip and dunk my camera into the water and other thoughts such as making sure my sarong does not come loose and float away (we bathe in the open with a sarong wrapped tightly around).

Here are some photos from times when I brought my camera with me.

The top photo was taken during our filming of Drowned Forest and Damned Lives, a campaign documentary against the construction of the Kelau dam which would relocate two Orang Asli (indigenous minorities) communities without their free prior and informed consent. We took a bath in the Kelau river and just as we were done, some Felda settlers came fresh from slaughtering a cow and were washing parts of the cow (like the intestine in the man’s hands) in the river.

These series of river shots below were chosen and edited as such since it was not appropriate to show children in the nude.

These shots of the river are from Kg Mengkawago. It’s a rural village where the villagers are dependent on the rain and river for water. Unfortunately illegal logging upstream has polluted their river, jeopardizing their water source, worst felt during the drought.

Ma Engi sews bags and dolls for Mang Tha, a social enterprise which helps refugee women generate income for their livelihood. Mang Tha means sweet dreams in the Chin language.

For Mother’s day last month, I did a small shoot for Elevyn for our Mother’s for Fair Trade campaign. The concept was to show that despite how different our lives may be, we essentially all find common ground in our endearment for our mothers.

We invited the public to send photos of themselves with their mom with a note to all mothers, as did our shop partners, Mang Tha a Chin women’s refugee group and Tompoq Topoh, a Mah Meri Orang Asli women’s group.

Here are some photos which I shot of the Chin refugee women in their homes in Kuala Lumpur.

Refugees fleeing from Burma come to Malaysia in hopes that UNCHR would help resettle them to a country in the West. Here in Malaysia they struggle to make ends meet as they are treated like undocumented migrants by the authorities, subjecting them to be exploited by employers and the authorities alike. There are over 27,000 Chin refugees residing in and around the capital city, Kuala Lumpur.

More on the Mothers for Fair Trade campaign on Elevyn’s blog here and KLue’s write up here.