PETALING JAYA, March 2 — German-Malay actress Maya Karin may have two Hollywood films coming out this year but her busy schedule is not stopping her from saving Malaysia’s endangered wildlife.
Known for her environmental activism, especially raising awareness on keeping rivers in Malaysia clean, the 41-year-old’s latest mission is protecting the Malayan tiger.
The actress, whose real name is Maya Karin Roelcke, launched a campaign to save the Malayan tiger in March last year which saw Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali coming on board as patron, Sinar Harian reported.
“I honestly was surprised when my efforts to save the rivers and create awareness about clean rivers caught the public’s attention.
“And through the Maya Karin Challenge which I started in September 2018 is still ongoing until now.
“But I don’t want to stick to just one campaign and I’m now moving on to a campaign called Save Our Malayan Tigers,” she said.
Maya was speaking to the Malay language publication during the launch of her latest film Bulan & Pria Terhebat recently.
The actress has four films scheduled to be released this year including two Hollywood productions, the thriller Alone which stars Tyler Posey and Donald Sutherland, and supernatural thriller Kingdom/Alam, which was filmed in Malaysia.
Maya added that there were fewer than 200 Malayan tigers and it was high time everyone needed to know about the alarming figure.
“There are some who feel why should they worry because there are 200 Malayan tigers left in Malaysia but they have to bear in mind, the mating process to get cubs aren’t easy.
“If that figure falls to 120, the government can declare the species extinct.
“So I will think about what can be done to raise awareness on this problem,” she said.
The Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam star is also an ardent campaigner against the degazettement of 97 per cent of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve to make way for a controversial mixed development project which includes the East Coast Rail Link.
