Petaling Jaya, 4 December 2021– Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) in partnership with documentary producer Nuvista Media, with support from Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara Semenanjung Malaysia (PERHILITAN) today announced the official launch of Layar Liar Malaysia’s documentary series.
Held in conjunction with World Wildlife Conservation Day, the launch was officiated by PERHILITAN Deputy Director General (Operations) Dato' Hasnan Hj. Yusop and Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson, Governing Council Member of YSD and Group Chief Executive Officer of Sime Darby Berhad, and witnessed by founders of Nuvista Media, husband and wife team, Harun Rahman and Lara Ariffin.
Layar Liar Malaysia is an online documentary series of 52 episodes featuring Malaysia’s wildlife, nature locations and individuals involved in environmental protection and biodiversity conservation initiatives, in Bahasa Malaysia with English subtitles produced by Nuvista Media.
The Layar Liar Malaysia series aims to create and increase awareness for Malaysia’s rich biodiversity through clear and visually striking videos. This is important considering the general public’s low level of awareness of our local animals, their elusive nature and obscure habitats.
The series is designed as a structured educational experience catered to primary and secondary school students and is supplemented by downloadable workbooks to encourage understanding and retention of knowledge.
A total of 19 episodes on the Clouded Leopard, Asian Millipedes, veterinarians, forest rangers, Taman Negara and Cameron Highlands, among others have already been published and 13 sets of workbooks uploaded on www.layarliar.my and on Layar Liar Malaysia’s official social media accounts on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Tiktok.
“YSD has been a great champion of the environment, supporting various initiatives over the years not only to protect and preserve with scientific research and ecosystem conservation, but also to raise awareness and to educate communities on how to live sustainably with their local environment. The Layar Liar Malaysia documentary series is part of our ongoing efforts to educate young impressionable minds and the public in general, on the biodiversity that we are fortunate to have in Malaysia. Delivered in Bahasa Malaysia, YSD is proud to support this series, to instil a sense of appreciation for our natural flora and fauna and hopefully, a desire to protect and preserve these precious resources for generations ahead of us,” Dato’ Jeffri said.
YSD’s support for this initiative aligns with its Environment pillar’s focus area of Environment Education and Awareness, the national agenda and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education, SDG 13: Climate Action, and SDG 15: Life on Land. YSD’s commitment of RM630,000 will go mainly towards the production of the documentary series and ensuring that it will be easily accessible to the general public, in the spirit of creating awareness for Malaysia’s rich natural heritage.
Dato’ Hasnan said, “PERHILITAN is a government organisation responsible for the protection and management of wildlife and national parks in Peninsular Malaysia and Federal Territory of Labuan. Numerous efforts have been undertaken by the Government to ensure the conservation of wildlife specifically for the Malayan Tiger, but this role is not exclusive to the Government. This collaboration involving the Government, the corporate and private sector is a good effort to spread awareness on our precious wildlife. The role of corporate bodies, environmental NGOs, academia and the media are crucial in creating awareness among the younger generation and garnering public support for tiger conservation and wildlife protection in general.”
“Layar Liar is a resource bank of natural history films - it is a platform of knowledge that is easily accessible to the public especially school children to create an awareness and love of Malaysia’s rich natural heritage. We hope that through this series, Malaysians will understand the challenges faced in wildlife conservation and will be inspired to act in preserving and protecting our precious natural world. To know is to love, to love is to protect,” said Lara Ariffin, who also produced a documentary titled “Malaysia’s Last Tigers”, which aired on the National Geographic channel last September. The documentary highlighted the importance of conserving Malayan tigers which have significantly dwindled since the early 2000s.
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