For Orang Asli activist and artist Shaq Koyok, 38, activism wasn’t necessarily a choice, but an act of survival aimed at fighting for a future where present and upcoming generations of Malaysia’s indigenous people can live in their own homeland without fear.
Born into the Temuan tribe of Selangor, Koyok witnessed the devastating deforestation of the Kuala Langat Forest Reserve in both 1993 and 2005, when developers razed more than half of the forest. The Busut Baru village, one of the indigenous tribes that resided in the forest, was forced to relocate twice due to the multiple developments made in the area. Koyok, who was 20 at the time and pursuing a degree in fine arts at University Technology MARA, turned to art with a renewed sense of purpose when he heard the
