Tengku Adlin

Shahrizaila, 68, replaces Tengku Datuk Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahamood or better known as Tengku Adlin, who has stepped down from the post after holding it since March 8, 2001.

Shahrizaila, who graduated from Universiti Malaya in engineering, has been active in the conservation and management of water resources.

Meanwhile Tengku Adlin has been appointed as WWF-Malaysia's Vice President Emeritus in recognition for his enormous contribution to the organisation's mission, said WWF-Malaysia in a statement, here Monday.

"Throughout his tenure as WWF-Malaysia Chairman, Tengku Adlin left important legacies in the area of environment conservation," it said.

"Tengku Adlin's personal influence, and the high esteem with which he is regarded, has been crucial in effecting government's support and getting right decisions made and actions taken," it said.

He has also been instrumental in promoting the Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative to the Sabah government, it said.

Tengku Adlin, who is Group Chairman of FACB Resorts Bhd, is a well known conservationist and has pionneered more than 20 expeditions to the unexplored remote areas of Sabah, including pioneering the new route to Mount Kinabalu from the western valley.

For his efforts, he has been awarded the Langkawi Award for his outstanding contribution to the environment in 1999, and in the same year he also received the WWF's highest international award, the Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal.