President | Founder | Director
Bam began working in wildlife conservation in 2007, and since 2013 her focus has been on gibbon rehabilitation and conservation in Malaysia. She centers her work on developing and implementing rehabilitation programs for gibbons rescued from the wildlife pet trade and other challenging situations, with the goal of returning them to the forest once they meet the seven release criteria outlined in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Guidelines for the Rehabilitation and Translocation of Gibbons. This involves behavioral and welfare assessments, social pairings, enclosure design, as well as pre- and post-release monitoring to support their long-term survival. She holds a degree in animal biology and spent nearly a decade as a wildlife ranger with Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife & National Parks, or Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar & Taman Negara Semenanjung Malaysia (PERHILITAN), where Bam worked on biodiversity inventories, rescue operations, and enforcement efforts to protect wildlife species.
Later, she joined the Copenhagen Zoo as a project coordinator and researcher, studying the ecology, presence and absence, breeding, and habitat use of flat-headed cats.
As Project Director at Borneo Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (Borneo GReP) and Malaya
Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (Malaya GReP), Bam collaborates closely with local and Indigenous communities. She is committed to creating opportunities for women in a male-dominated field, supporting those who may not have formal training but bring passion and lived experience to wildlife conservation. At the same time, she works to
connect Malaysia’s conservation efforts to international networks and
standards, ensuring that local actions contribute to global wildlife protection goals.
Qualifications and Accomplishments
- Only Malaysian member of the IUCN Section on Small Apes Captive Care Group – a group that specialises in gibbons and gibbon rehabilitation.
- Chosen as one of the Top 5 Women in Leadership in Environmental Sustainability in 2017
- Awarded the American Society of Primatologist 2018 Conservationist Award
- Declared as Malaysia’s Eco Champion by Jane Goodall and Roots and Shoots.
- Awarded the Edge Inspiring Young Leaders Award in 2019
- Runner Up for the McKenna-Travers Award in 2021
- Awarded the Star Golden Hearts Award in 2022.
See more of our Media Coverage to learn more about Bam’s story.