In late December 2021, the monastery received a letter of support from Ipoh City Council, the administrative capital of Perak. The council voiced its support for designating the land a cultural heritage site.
"If the monastery achieves the status of a heritage site, it means nobody can change the structures on the site and the site is protected from being interfered with," YB Leong Cheok Keng says.
Bhante Kusala radiates equanimous good humor. But he's aware that this way of life hangs in the balance as the values his monastery represents compete with economic interests. "Nowadays, not many people want to become monks," he laughs. "They don't want to stay in caves or a forest... we are the real rare species!"