I started my career in wildlife organisation as a monitoring specialist with Rimba (rimba.ngo). It was a pivotal moment - one-way ticket to Terengganu and living a life on the East Coast shaped my trajectory to be where I am now. In Rimba, I managed the SMART database and coordinated patrols and routine tiger surveys where we deployed camera traps in the forest. I also assisted in coordinating Rimba's workshop to improve prosecution and raise judicial awareness - this work founded my interest to set up my own organisation, Justice for Wildlife Malaysia.

Through my work with Justice for Wildlife Malaysia, I have had the opportunity to work closely with local conservation organisations, enforcement agencies, prosecutors and the judiciary across Malaysia. I have monitored wildlife crime cases in court, supported workshops for judges, prosecutors and enforcement officers, contributed to wildlife law and policy reviews, and worked with partners including WWF, TRAFFIC and Panthera.

Being close to these processes has changed how I think about conservation. I have seen that a wildlife seizure is only the beginning. What happens afterwards: in the investigation, the courtroom and the eventual sentence, can determine whether that intervention creates meaningful change.

These experiences have drawn me increasingly towards the intersection of wildlife conservation and criminal justice. I am interested in understanding why good laws sometimes fail in practice, how institutions can work better together, and how justice systems can become more responsive to wildlife crime.

I see my role as helping build that bridge: bringing conservation realities into the justice system, and bringing justice thinking into conservation.