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Thursday, March 5. 2009
The Malaysian Karst Society (MKS) is a non-profit, non-government organisation formed to conserve the karst outcrops in Malaysia. Karst is landscape underlain by limestone which has been eroded by water through dissolution, producing various formations, these include the limestone hills and caves. 
MKS regularly organises trekking, climbing, caving and other karst related activities to generate interest and awareness in karst. Here you will find the photos and updates on our past and future trips. If you have an interest in exploring the dark recesses of caves, or simply feel that beautiful Malaysian karst outcrops need to be conserved, click here to contact us or click HERE for a copy of the Application form.
Thursday, February 26. 2009
Wednesday, February 25. 2009
Dear Fellow members,
Two years has passed since this committee took office. What have we got to show for the two years? First I have to say that there were several situations that were unexpected which made running the society very difficult. This contributed to the lack of funds and thus the need to cut back on expenses. Not having a full time staff helping to run the society put a lot of pressure on the committee. We all have our own rice bowl to think about thus made it difficult to find time for the society. Thankfully, we all persevered and managed to keep the society going. My thanks to all the committee members.
On the bright side, we managed to organize several trips to caving areas in Malaysia. This include the trips to Gunung Senyum Recreational Forest (at Jengka, Pahang), the Caves of the Chuping Hills (Perlis), Gua Kelawar and Gua Anak Tempurung (Perak). This will continue in the foreseeable future.
Our main project which is the National Cave and Karst Database Project is now being promoted among relevant government agencies to get their support and cooperation. As natural resources are managed by either State or Federal Governments, it is imperative to get work in partnership with them. The harder part is to obtain funding for the project.
Malaysia has been working in isolation of the formal world speleological community. In their recent delegates meeting last September, the International Union of Speleology ( its French acronym UIS) has agreed to table Malaysia's request to be a country member of the UIS. Malaysia's application will be tabled at the next UIS Congress in July 2009 for final approval. In early 2008, MKS made a formal application for Malaysia to be a Country Member of the UIS. The UIS is equivalent to the United Nations among the speleological community. It is hoped that Malaysia would be in the mainstream of Speleological research and management through its UIS membership.
On this note, MKS will strive to make this society the main mouth piece for speleology in the country and in turn attract more and more organizations and individuals as members of MKS. MKS is a membership organization and it is the members that will take it forward.
Lastly, I would like to urge all current members to help increase the society's membership. Thank you.
Hymeir Kamarudin
President
Sunday, September 14. 2008
Our efforts to highlight the issues related to the plan to quarry in the area around Gunung Senyum is showing some positive results. TV3 has recently featured Gunung Senyum in its news report and the local newspapers have published some articles on the latest developments involving Gunung Senyum and Jebak Puyuh. There is also an interview with the Pahang MB on the quarrying issue. Click on the links below to download the articles from The STAR newspaper.
Monday, June 30. 2008
The MKS has received infomation that Bukit Jabak Puyuh in Pahang is to be quarried for limestone. We are very concerned about this development and have sent a letter to the company in question expressing our misgivings and requesting a dialogue with them.
Here is an excerpt of the letter. Click HERE to download the full letter.
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Re: Gunung Senyum and Bukit Jabak Puyuh, Jengka, Pahang
It has been brought to our attention that the Pahang State Government is considering your company's application to extract limestone from Gunung Senyum and Bukit Jabak Puyuh in Jengka, Pahang. We also realize that the YTL Group of Companies considers itself to be an environmentally responsible corporate citizen. We note that YTL has supported several environmental projects currently and in the past and is a large contributor to a major Malaysian conservation organization. In addition, we understand that YTL prides itself in taking measures to minimize its corporate foot print on the environment too. All these are actions that we in the conservation field fully applaud. It is in this vein that we would like to ask you to reconsider your plans in relation to these two unique hills. Not many people are aware of the fact that both hills are of high conservation value as they both harbor important archaeological artifacts and a substantial number of locally endemic and rare flora and fauna. Gunung Senyum is a popular recreational attraction as it has several easily accessible caves. In fact, Jabatan Perhutanan Negeri Pahang is currently managing the hill as a recreational site and has been for many years now. Bukit Jabak Puyuh on the other hand being a satellite of the larger G. Senyum is less visited but is thought to be as diverse, if not more diverse than G. Senyum as it is more pristine. (continued)
Monday, June 23. 2008
The Malaysian Karst Society office has now moved to a new location. It is now at :
3rd Floor, No. 85, Jalan Sultan Abdul Jalil, 30300, Ipoh Perak.
If you need to contact the society, please call any of the executive committee as listed on the left of this page.
Sunday, October 21. 2007
The MKS is looking for an Ipoh based volunteer to help with the Cave and Karst Database Project. This volunteer must be familiar and have experience in Linux and have basic programing skills. He/she will be working with and assisting MKS to maintain and develop a database software and will be based at the MKS office in Ipoh. This is a volunteer job although it may be converted into a paying position in the future depending on funding. Please contact Hymeir at 019-4428926 for more information.
Monday, July 16. 2007
The MKS wins an award from the Perak Tourist Association.The Malaysian Karst Society has been recognised by the Perak Tourism Association for promoting and supporting eco-tourism in the state. On July 14th, the MKS received an award at the 'Perak Tourism Appreciation Awards 2007 ' ceremony held at the State Banquet Hall. Twenty three other organisations also received awards in recognition for their contribution to the development of the tourism industry in the state. The awards were presented by the State Tourism committee chairman, Datuk Radzi Manan. The MKS was among four non-governmental organisations that were honoured at the ceremony. The other NGO's are the Tambun Pomelo Growers' Association, Persatuan Pemulihan Orang Cacat and NTUC Income Travel. 
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