Law of science: From entomologist to environmental journalist

MALAYSIANSKINI | Macaranga co-founder Law Yao Hua was a city boy who grew up in urban centres but is glad that his parents brought him camping in Taman Negara and Kenyir Lake during his childhood.

Not deterred by being bitten by leeches at a young age, his interests in the environment and ecology grew.

When he was six years old, his family moved to a terraced house located in Damansara Utama, Selangor, which came with a backyard with fruit trees, flowers and plants.

Law and his younger sister spent a lot of time playing in the backyard, and he began to pay attention to ants.

He would stare at how ants moved out from their nest, carried sands and built mounds surrounding their nests. This phenomenon fascinated Law.

"When I was young, I was really curious about what they were building? I remember guessing they were defending themselves from enemies because there were different groups of ants."

"A war between ants can be a fascinating topic, and I was totally fascinated by it...