In The News 1999

Malaysian Eco Warrior

The Malaysian island of Langkawi needs all the eco help it can get, as new hotels spring up along the coastline and the mass tourism descends. Enter Irshad Mobarak, 39 a sort of one man band in the cause of conservation on Langkawi.His small company leads guided rainforest tours. Good humoured and articulate. Irshad first function, he says is damage limitation. “We can’t stop new hotels going up. But if we can keep them on the coast, we can save the interior”.

Edge of Darkness

It came from an unexpected quarter. Joining the hotel's free tour of the local rainforest, I was struck by the eloquence of our guide, a tall Indian Malaysian named Irshad Mobarak, as his electric torch unerringly lit up birds, glowing mushroom and creatures that crept through the dripping forest. Suddenly a jagged shape dripping through the beam, Irshad slipped into commentary mode: “Bats are precision fliers aerodynamically more manoeuvrable than flies.