Yao Hua, with the fire and fierce clarity of a seasoned science communicator. He took the stage with a grounded, urgent message: that the future of journalism, especially environmental journalism, hangs in the balance. He challenged us to consider what it takes to sustain truth-telling in a time of noise and distraction. Journalism, he reminded us, doesn’t just exist; it survives because people believe in it enough to support it. His call was clear: if we want a future where power is held accountable and nature has a voice, we have to invest in the storytellers who make that future possible. Law Yao Hua is an environment and science journalist based in Kuala Lumpur and co-founder of Macaranga, an independent newsroom covering the Malaysian environment. Trained as an insect ecologist with a Ph.D. in Entomology, he was formerly a senior lecturer at Universiti Putra Malaysia before transitioning into journalism in 2014. His work has appeared in Science, Nature, The Atlantic, Science News, and BFM89.9.Yao Hua has earned multiple accolades, including the Sigma Award (2023), MPI Environmental Reporting Award (2022), Said Zahari Award (2022), and One World Media Award (2020). As a fellow with the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network, he exposed systemic flaws and fraud behind forest loss in Peninsular Malaysia, helping halt illegal projects and empower Indigenous legal action.At TEDxUKM, Yao Hua shares an idea to safeguard Malaysia’s environmental future—for a more just and sustainable society. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx