The BURO Impact Awards is a celebration of the creativity, originality, passion, and accomplishments of Malaysia’s trailblazing talents. Ahead, we catch up with our Sustainability Hero of the Year, Alvin Chelliah.
If there’s one activist making waves (sorry!) in and out of Malaysia, it’s Alvin Chelliah. Based on Tioman Island, the marine biologist is on the frontline of our shores, having dedicated his life’s work to protecting our local coral reefs. He’s a truly remarkable individual, and his achievements within the conservation field have earned him the ‘Sustainability Hero of the Year’ accolade in our 2024 BURO Impact Awards. “I’m flattered and also a little unsure if I deserve this,” he smiles. “But I’m very grateful to be the winner of this award.”
It is gratitude and humility that have driven him throughout his career as a marine conservationist. To Chelliah, sustainability is a balancing act; a way of life where nature, people, development, and economy coexist in harmony. “It’s about ensuring no one is left behind and that all are given equal chances to thrive now and in the future,” he says. This philosophy is woven into the tapestry of his work with Reef Check Malaysia, a branch of the global Reef Check Network, which operates across 90 countries to support sustainable marine ecosystems through reef monitoring, identifying threats, and finding tangible solutions. As the Chief Program Officer at Reef Check Malaysia, he has become a pivotal figure in the push for sustainable marine conservation locally.
DIVING IN HEADFIRST
Chelliah’s fondness for the ocean began early, with plenty of encouragement from his parents. “I was very fortunate to be exposed to snorkelling and scuba diving from a very young age,” he recalls. “I did my first dive at the age of 15 and was blown away. I felt like I had just visited another planet. It was surreal and I was instantly addicted.”
Pursuing a career as a scuba instructor seemed like the obvious path, but when the time came, his parents had encouraged him to pursue higher education first—in hindsight, the right move.
From there, he went on to complete a degree in Marine Science at Universiti Malaysia Sabah and a subsequent master’s degree at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, which is what eventually brought him to volunteer with Reef Check Malaysia. “The team was very small with only three full-time staff back then and they needed help running education programmes on Redang, Perhentian and Tioman Island,” he explains. “I guess I did a good job because not long after they offered me a full-time position!”
EMBRACING ISLAND LIFE
In 2014, Reef Check Malaysia received five-year funding from Yayasan Sime Darby to launch Cintai Tioman, a programme aimed at building social and ecological resilience towards climate change on the island. “I will never forget the first time I went to Tioman,” Chelliah recalls. “I was amazed at how well the natural beauty of the island was preserved.” Picture virgin rainforests, high mountain peaks, rocky outcrops, waterfalls, and of course, pristine coral reefs—it was a breathtaking landscape that offered everything Chelliah was looking for. “I also think the local community played a big part in captivating my heart,” he adds. “They are some of the friendliest and most caring people I have ever met and they made me feel right at home.”
It’s this connection with the local community that would set him on his current path. In the early stages of the programme, Chelliah and his team had conducted interviews with the islanders and discovered a surprising insight: many of the island’s youths had great interest in playing a role in protecting and managing their marine resources, but not the capacity nor the platform to do so. “The Tioman Island Marine Park is managed by the federal government under the Department of Fisheries Malaysia but very few islanders were working for the department because they didn’t meet the requirements,” he explains. “So, Reef Check Malaysia started training the locals so that they could work alongside department staff, providing support and valuable local knowledge.” And so, the Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG) was created.
The programme sought to train young islanders in reef monitoring, coral planting, ghost net removal, and other conservation techniques. “Today, we’ve trained over 80 individuals from the island,” Chelliah proudly shares. “It’s about giving them the skills and opportunities to play an active role in protecting their home.”
For Chelliah, involving local communities isn’t just a strategy—it’s a necessity. “The local community are the most important stakeholders when it comes to managing marine ecosystems,” he explains. “They have the most to gain or lose. All other stakeholders—resort operators, dive operators, government staff, and even NGOs—are visitors. They have the option to leave if conditions become unfavourable. The islanders don’t have that luxury. Protecting their island is personal.”
BELOW THE SURFACE
It should come as no surprise that marine conservation isn’t an easy line of work to be in. “The work is hard and the pay isn’t gonna make you rich, so the only thing that will make you get up in the morning and go to work is passion,” Chelliah asserts. “You really need to love your work and know what you are getting yourself into—it’s not all fun in the sun and swimming with sharks and rays!”
For a start, conservation is very much tangled up with politics and bureaucracy. Just recently, plans to build an international airport on Tioman threatened to cause irreversible damage to the reefs and forests on the island. Fortunately, Chelliah and his team were able to stop the plans from going into motion, but it’s far from the last battle they’ll face. “Dealing with politicians and businessmen who only care about maximising short-term profits is stressful and tiring and it draws all the positive energy from me,” he admits. Somehow, however, he stays optimistic, sharing his very simple remedy for low spirits: “A good dive usually recharges me.”
BUILDING A LEGACY
Ultimately, what keeps Chelliah going through thick and thin is the impact he’s leaving behind—not only in leading conservation efforts but also in inspiring a movement that will outlast him. As of this year, Chelliah’s work with Cintai Tioman and TMCG has been replicated in other parts of Malaysia, including Terengganu, Johor, and Sabah. “Before TMCG, local island communities weren’t involved in marine conservation,” he notes. “Now, this approach is spreading and gaining momentum. That makes me very happy.”
His proudest moment of the year, however, was watching the next generation of islanders join the fight for marine conservation. “It felt very full circle,” Chelliah beams. “This kid had been through our school education programme from the age of eight, and he is now grown up and works alongside me. It’s truly special.”
Looking ahead, his ultimate goal is to ensure that Malaysia’s marine ecosystems are managed sustainably. A key part of that vision is empowering the TMCG to operate independently by 2028. “Right now, I’m working on training the leaders of TMCG so they don’t need me to be present on the island,” he shares. “It’s about building their capacity to lead the charge.”
All in all, one thing is for sure: Our Sustainability Hero of the Year proves that change is possible when passion meets purpose, and we foresee that his is a legacy that will ripple far into the future. As a parting statement, Chelliah only has one thing to say: “If you have never been snorkelling on a reef in Malaysia before, please do go and give it a try. As the saying goes, tak kenal maka tak cinta—you will only understand why reefs are so special and why we need to protect them once you have experienced them firsthand.”
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CREDITS
Editor-In-Chief / JASON LIM. Creative Direction and Styling / SARAH TAI. Text and Interview / REDZHANNA JAZMIN. Art Direction Assisted by / EVE LYN LAU. Photography / CHAM ZIHAO | MÒ SHĒNG RÉN. Assisted by / SAIFUL AZWAN. Videography / DENNIS KHO ASSISTED BY LEON WONG. Makeup / JOEY YAP FOR YSL BEAUTY. Hair / BIBIAN LEONG FOR SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL.
Check out the 2024 BURO Impact Award winners here.
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