BYD Light the Change hits 500 trees in Malaysia after Carey Island mangrove planting

KUALA LUMPUR: BYD Malaysia has moved the second phase of its Light the Change CSR programme out of the city and onto the coast, planting 380 mangrove trees at the Mah Meri Cultural Village (MMCV) on Carey Island, Selangor.

The species going into the mud are local ones: Bakau Kurap, Nyireh and Nipah. The stated aim is coastal ecosystem restoration, with the added angle of supporting the indigenous Mah Meri community whose village sits alongside it.

It runs under BYD's broader Cool the Earth by 1°C commitment, which is the umbrella the brand puts most of its environmental work under globally.

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This is not a standalone planting day. It traces back to the BYD Light the Change Festival held late last year, where the public made more than 1,200 digital tree pledges.

Phase 1 covered the first chunk of those, with 120 trees across 10 native species planted at The Waterfront @ ParkCity earlier this year, in partnership with Desa ParkCity and The International School of ParkCity (ISPKL).

Add Phase 2 and the running total is 500 trees across two sites. That still leaves a gap against the 1,200 pledges, which suggests further phases are coming, though BYD Malaysia has not put a date or a location on the next one.

The shift from urban planting to mangroves is the more interesting part. Mangroves do heavier lifting than ornamental street trees when it comes to carbon storage, marine habitat and holding a coastline together, which matters on a low-lying stretch of Selangor coast like Carey Island.

The planting brought together Jacob Ma, Managing Director of BYD Malaysia, Jeffrey Gan, Managing Director of Southeast Asia, Sime Motors, and Adeline Lew, Managing Director of BYD Sime Motors, along with staff from BYD Malaysia, BYD and DENZA dealer partners, and student volunteers from SMK Telok Panglima Garang. The MMCV team, led by director Rashid Esa, ran the planting on the ground.

"At BYD, we believe that creating a better future starts with action," said Jacob Ma, Managing Director of BYD Malaysia. "With National Day just around the corner, this initiative is a timely reminder that a stronger Malaysia is built when we come together and leave no community behind. Working alongside the Mah Meri Cultural Village community has allowed us to take a more inclusive approach to building a stronger and more sustainable ecosystem, while learning from a community that has lived closely with and cared for the environment for generations. For us, this is not simply about planting trees. It is about bringing people together, building meaningful partnerships and taking collective action towards a future that we can all be proud of."

For the Mah Meri, the forests, rivers and mangroves around the village are not a backdrop. They are tied to how the community lives and what it passes on.

"For the Mah Meri, the environment around us is not separate from our community. The forests, rivers and mangroves are part of the landscape we have lived with for generations and are closely connected to our way of life and heritage. When we protect these natural surroundings, we are also protecting a part of our identity and what we hope to pass on to the next generation," said En Rashid, Director of Mah Meri Cultural Village.

He was also fairly direct about what happens after everyone goes home.

"We are grateful to have BYD Malaysia, the students and volunteers here to be part of this effort. What is important is not only that these trees are planted, but that people come here, learn about the Mah Meri community and understand why protecting this environment matters. We hope this will be the beginning of a continued commitment to care for these trees and the ecosystem around them," he added.

Once the planting was done, participants sat through a traditional Mask Dance ceremony and tried hands-on activities including traditional hunting skills, wood carving, atap making, traditional costumes and a Mah Meri wedding ceremony.

It is the sort of programme that could easily be filler, though in this case it does connect to the point being made about heritage and environment being the same conversation for the community.

"What makes today meaningful is that we didn't just come together to talk about sustainability. We came here, got our hands dirty and actually did something together," said Adeline Lew, Managing Director of BYD Sime Motors. "For BYD and DENZA, this is also a way for us to give back to the communities around us and to the people who have supported our brands. We hope initiatives like this give us an opportunity to bring our community together for something beyond the cars themselves."

BYD says the new mangroves will be monitored and maintained rather than left to fend for themselves, which is the part that actually decides whether a planting number means anything a year from now. Survival rates for mangrove saplings can be rough without follow-up, so that maintenance commitment is worth holding the brand to.

For Malaysian buyers weighing up EV brands on more than just spec sheets, this is the kind of programme that sits alongside the showroom stuff rather than in it.

BYD Malaysia says it will keep looking at further biodiversity, restoration and community projects under Light the Change as it works through the remaining pledges.

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