This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 15, 2024 - July 21, 2024

In a quiet and leafy corner of Old Klang Road, a group of young people are taking an unusual path that most people their age would not follow: starting a community-owned enterprise that espouses an environment-conscious and holistic lifestyle.

The enterprise, called Kongsi Co-op (Koperasi Kongsi Selangor Bhd), aims to create a human- and environment-centric community that lives sustainably. Their vision is to become a model consumer cooperative that advocates for a harmonious ecosystem for people, the soil and nature.

Chong Siu Hou, who leads the co-op development and operations of Kongsi, took a rather bold leap himself and exited corporate life to manage the cooperative in 2021. Chong was an engineering graduate but has worked in the banking industry for almost 10 years.

Reflecting on his career, he says the banking industry thrived on a high-performance culture, which has become part of the mindset of many Malaysians even today.

“Back then, everyone would say, ‘As long as you have money, you’ll have no worries’,” says Chong. He realised, however, that that was not the case when one considers one’s mounting commitments and debts.

“By the time I was reaching 30, I was almost at the top 20% (T20) level [income group]. But if you look at my bills and commitments, it shows I have negative assets,” says Chong.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Chong’s perception of his own life changed. “Even when I had money, I couldn’t do anything, as travelling was restricted and dining out was also not an option,” he says.

This made Chong reflect on whether pursuing the corporate lifestyle was worth it. “At the end of the day, that kind of life is superficial because all you talk about is monetary wealth.”

After the pandemic, many individuals like Chong are rethinking the traditional notion of what it means to be truly wealthy. Priorities are shifting towards maintaining good health and building connections with the community, as opposed to the relentless pursuit of materialistic wealth.

That is why Chong decided to take the leap and join a team of other like-minded individuals, who are also members and co-owners of Kongsi.

They are eager to provide Malaysians with more access to eco-friendly products and services, including organic and biodynamic produce. Biodynamics refers to a holistic, ecological and ethical approach to farming, gardening, food and nutrition that uses only organic and locally sourced materials.

Kongsi members gain access to fresh produce and food products from local partners, as well as workshops on related topics. It has hosted Kongsi Community Markets, where the public can purchase organic and plant-based food and handmade goods by indigenous communities, among other things.

Sustainable living can be done through buying organic and eco-friendly produce and reducing unnecessary waste. It is also important for consumers to be aware of what they are buying and how it affects the environment.

“If we want to talk about sustainability, we have to talk about the quality of soil and air as well. Pesticide use has a lot of underlying issues that are unknown to the public,” says Chong.

“The other issue we hear less about is genetically modified organisms. GMO has been cited as one of the causes of environmental and public health issues.”

These problems include potentially breeding “superweeds” due to contamination, according to the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety, and chemical dependence.

Malaysia has approved genetically modified (GM) maize products and soybean products for food, feed and processing purposes. Although it is mainly used as feed for livestock, the question is whether it will indirectly affect the health of humans who consume the meat, Chong says.

“The traceability of the content is quite challenging. You are required to go through the whole food chain to test whether [a certain product] contains GMO.”

Currently, Malaysia has no regulations requiring labels for genetically modified ingredients in food products. The Ministry of Health’s Food Safety and Quality Division has proposed, however, a draft regulation that would mandate labelling for any food containing more than 3% GM material.

“Most importantly, we as consumers don’t even know that this is an issue and don’t bother asking about it. A reason that Kongsi was set up was to raise awareness about the GMO issue in the products we consume,” says Hii Ning, who is in charge of publicity for Kongsi Co-op.

Another topic close to their hearts is supporting local and small-scale farmers by purchasing directly from them.

Having been in the organic food industry for two decades, Callie Tai, director of Kongsi and CEO of organic concept store Justlife, says the main challenge in encouraging organic living is building credibility and changing preconceptions.

Tai founded Justlife in 2001, a worker’s cooperative that sells organic and earth-friendly products. “From the beginning of Justlife, we had to do extra to build that credibility, where we offer the contact information of farmers on our packaging and make sure the farms [can be visited] by customers,” she says. The same principle of transparency is applied at Kongsi.

“Because we are accountable to every single consumer who joins as a member, we have to be extra diligent in our choice of products and how we work with farmers in pricing margins.”

While some might see organic living as expensive, Tai views it as an investment in her well-being, both physically and mentally.

“By consuming organic products, I am indirectly contributing to the [well-being of the] environment by cutting down on [the use of] pesticides and weed killers. I am also supporting local farmers and, in return, creating a smaller carbon footprint.”

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