The contribution of the MENGO community was even acknowledged by the first Minister of Environment, Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui, who said that the MENGO activities "largely influenced the movement and management of the environment in this country."

Some MENGOs in Malaysia have been and are still working with communities impacted by environmental degradation and destruction. They began to organise communities who suffered from adverse impacts such as:

1. Fishing villages whose livelihoods were affected by environmental pollution from the toxic wastes of industries;
    

2. Farmers and plantation workers who were exposed to pesticide poisonings;
    

3. Communities exposed to toxic radioactive waste dumping as in Bukit Merah, Perak;
    

4. Indigenous peoples whose forests and resources were affected by logging and dam projects;
    

5. Communities whose quality of life were affected by environmental pollution.

In the mobilising of these communities, letters of complaints were sent frequently to the Department of Environment and other government agencies. Their responsibilities were highlighted in the media and it also sparked the beginning of environmental journalism in the country.

Besides public awareness work, environmental NGOs have organised major conferences, which brought together international speakers, local researches, government officials and members of civil society to address key subjects. Many of these conferences challenged the mainstream concept of development and emphasised the need for a development which was ecologically sound and socially just. All this was even before the Rio Summit which has now led to the concept of sustainable development.

Furthermore, a number of significant environmental issues were raised by MENGOs in relation to major projects which were environmentally destructive and were subsequently shelved because of the strong concerns raised. They included:

1. The Saving of Taman Negara from the Tembeling Dam. This was an issue which got together several NGOs together in the early 80s. A dam was proposed in the Taman Negara which would have destroyed Malaysia's premier National Park. The NGO advocacy let to the project being halted.
    

2. The Saving of Penang Hill - Again, several NGOs got together to fight one of the most well known cases where the Penang Hill was saved from a project which would have caused much environmental destruction on the island. Following a major public campaign, the Penang Hill was spared from destruction, as the State Government decided to stop the project. The NGOs were involved in the official review of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the project together with the Department of Environment.

Both EPU and DANCED, have on various occasions, encouraged the MENGOs to define their own identity and roles. It may be concluded that the environmental NGOs are involved in various activities impacting many different sectors in Malaysia.