RESEARCH

“Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.”

– Albert Einstein

CONSERVATION

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.”
-Baba Dioum

KEMAMAN TERRAPIN CONSERVATION PROJECT

EDUCATION

“One way or another, the choice will be made by our generation, but it will affect life on earth for all generations to come.”
– Lester Brown

TURTLE CAMPS

OUTREACH

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead

MORE OUTREACH PROGRAMMES

TURTLE CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF MALAYSIA

Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia (TCS) was founded out of necessity in 2011 because co-founders Drs. Chan Eng Heng and Chen Pelf Nyok realised that there wasn’t an organisation or agency in charge of the tortoises and freshwater turtles in the country, despite being home to 18 species of native species.

TCS is the first non-governmental and non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of freshwater turtles in Malaysia. The aim of the Society is to bring about the recovery of depleted wild populations of turtles, with particular reference to freshwater turtles, in Malaysia through partnerships with like-minded organisations, individuals and local communities as well as through its own programmes.

OUR VISION

We strive to create the conditions for turtles to thrive under the care and protection of informed local communities, an educated and motivated public, dedicated NGOs and a concerned government.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Dr. Chan Eng Heng

Tan Sri Dr. Salleh Mohd. Nor

Vickey Chen

Vickey first encountered TCS in 2012 when she bought the “Little Turtle Messenger” at Turtle Alley, Kuala Terengganu. From there, Vickey joined TCS and is currently the Secretary.

Lim Puay Aun

Puay Aun is an IT Professional who is passionate about wildlife conservation. After TCS was founded, he was the primary liaison based in Kuala Lumpur and conducted talks and represented TCS in events throughout the city and occasionally in other parts of the country. He presently serves TCS as the Assistant Secretary.

Chan Wai Kee

Before retirement, Wai Kee was an IT Specialist with more than 30 years of experience. Currently, he is serving as the Treasurer of the Society.

Ahmad Amir Azfar Shahidan

Amirah Farhana Aggus Salim Halmee

Amirah is an International Relations graduate but due to her love for turtles, she signed up as a Life member of TCS and has volunteering with TCS since 2016. She is currently embarking on a personal art project to sketch all native turtle species in Malaysia for TCS.

Chong Chin Kian

CK is a banker in a foreign bank, but he has a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology. Being one of the youngest committee members, he is the most tech-savvy among us, and injects new ideas and social media solutions to our operations.

Shah Redza Hussein

Shah has been involved in conservation for more than 20 years. He had previously served WWF-Malaysia, Malaysian Nature Society and various environmental, community-based and indigenous people related NGOs. He currently heads the Perak State Park Corporation.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Chen Pelf Nyok

Pelf is the co-founder and Executive Director of TCS. She is awarded the first Ph.D. in the field of non-marine turtles in Malaysia. Her research interests are the distribution, biology and ecology of freshwater turtles. She leads the community-based terrapin conservation project in Kg. Pasir Gajah, Kemaman, and was very recently awarded the Commonwealth Points of Light from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her turtle conservation efforts. She is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG), and also Vice President of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) Malaysia Chapter.

TERRAPIN GUARDIANS

Our Terrapin Guardians are the backbone of the community-based terrapin conservation project in Kg.Pasir Gajah, Kemaman, Terengganu. All of them used to collect and consume river terrapin eggs but they are now our trusted Terrapin Guardians. They work tirelessly during the terrapin nesting season to collect as many eggs as possible for incubation. The project also hires Wazel to raise the terrapin hatchlings in our TCS River Terrapin Conservation Centre.

Wazel

Dollah

Zul

Perik

SUPER INTERNS

TCS is a small, young but dynamic organisation, with activities ranging from multi-disciplinary research projects to working with the local womenfolk to produce marketable batik-themed products. Our work-type and work-load vary throughout the year, from camping out at the riverbank and micro-chipping terrapins, to measuring newly-emerged terrapin hatchlings, to conducting Turtle Camps with students to taking guests on Turtle Discovery Trips to managing our social media sites to writing grant proposals and press releases.

We accept internship applications with a minimum stay of one month, which we believe, benefits both the intern and TCS. Please note that TCS does not provide any form of remuneration for intern positions.

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