This data represents a survey of all the large trees in permanent forest plots in Danum Valley and Sepilok Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia to determine whether they were dead or alive in 2019. The data consist of individual tree ids, which can be linked back to the plot inventory data, status and some details about the mode of death. Additional data for Danum Valley is available through the ForestGEO portal. Additional data for Sepilok reserve is available through forestplots website.