In order to lower the carbon emissions that lead to global warming, Malaysia is considering the deployment of market-based carbon pricing policies such as carbon trading and a carbon tax. This paper, which is based on a memorandum submitted to the Malaysian government, presents a critical assessment of these policies …
In an unprecedented move, officials from the Association of South-East Asian Nations ( asean ) met representatives from Indonesian plantation firms to discuss ways to prevent forest fires that gave rise to the disastrous smoky haze in the region. The firms are held responsible for triggering the huge forest fires …
AIR quality in Malaysia has been made an "official secret'. The Malaysian government has also launched a new Internet site to counter "negative publicity'. The two developments reflect the Malaysian authorities' obsessive concern with presenting a positive image of Malaysia that overlooks shortcomings and plays down contentious issues. Government officials …
Authorities in Singapore have said that they are satisfied with efforts by Malaysian vegetable growers to cut down on the use of pesticides. Quoting Singapore's Primary Production Department ( ppd ), the Malaysian Vegetable Growers Association president Liew Chow said the quality of Malaysian vegetables had improved considerably over the …
when pig farmers and farm workers in Ipoh, Malaysia started dying last year, everybody suspected that it was due to the Japanese encephalitis ( je ) virus which is spread by the Culex mosquito. In November, the health authorities declared that je was the virus behind the spate of "mysterious' …
Klang Valley residents expressed concern over environmental damage that the Sungai Selangor dam project may cause. After experiencing dry taps in 1998, people of the Klang Valley made it clear that they want uninterrupted water supply no matter what it takes. "We regret that the normal water supply will be …
a virus spread by infected pigs has claimed more than 85 lives in Malaysia. The virus, Japanese encephalitis ( je ), is carried by pigs and transmitted by mosquitoes. The Malaysian government has since ordered the immediate culling of around a million pigs. The disease first unleashed itself on the …
Industrial pollution is supposed to have killed about 13,500 fish and prawns in an aquaculture project in Sungai Petani province in January. According to fisheries department public relations manager Halijah Mat Sin, investigations ruled out disease as the cause of the deaths. She said preliminary reports revealed that the fish …
The science, technology and environment ministry has instructed the wildlife and national parks department to look into the possibility of setting up a research and development unit to protect wildlife in Malaysia. The ministry may also call for the country's Wildlife Protection Act to be amended, and encourage participation of …
The primary industries ministry in Malaysia has come up with a long-term plan to establish mini-estates to grow rubber trees from newly-discovered clones. The new plants will not only produce more latex but also good quality rubber wood. "If this is done, we will be getting an adequate supply of …
UNDER proposed timber purchasing laws in Los Angeles and New York, USA, preference would be given to wood certified by an environmental organization called the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Environmentalists are pushing to implement this certification process to keep logging at sustainable levels. "If these laws arc passed, it could …
After a year of droughts and famines, South Asia is bracing itself for La Nina, the other half of El Nine weather phenomenon which had wreaked havoc all over the world last year. Malaysia has already begun gearing up for the fight against thunderstorms and floods. Based on the data …
Malaysia's Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU) has come up with a novel concept to stabilise the dwindling turtle population: adopt a nest for a fee of rm 200, or a turtle for rm 100. If the proposal sounds appetising, turtle lovers can contact SEATRU at Pulau Redang, Terengganu, in Malaysia …
Nearly all the states in peninsular Malaysia logged below their annual quota in 1997, primary industries minister Lim Keng Yaik said. "In the last three to four years, the states have kept to their annual coupe (quota). "Some have even logged below their annual coupe," he said. "States are also …
The science, technology and environment ministry has said that burning can only be carried out during the hottest part of the day, and must be supervised at all times. It has also specified that stringent rules must be followed to carry out open burning. However, the ministry thinks that burning …
The number of bush and forest fires in Malaysia has reduced drastically. The government has made serious efforts to combat the problem. "In the last two months, the fire department has responded to an average of 37 cases per day. This is nearly 80 per cent reduction in the number …
About two million people would be extended water rationing till September amidst depleting dam levels. Mohammed Shariff Jajang, chairperson of the Selangor state information committee, says that production at the main Langat and Semenyih dams is presently maintained at about 70 per cent of the normal level. "The current rationing …
The Malaysian government would help its neighbours to fight the haze blanketing part of the Southeast Asian region to ensure non-disruption of the Commonwealth Games. Prime minister Mahathir Mohammed said it is going to be a daunting task for his country. Still, Malaysia is confident of reducing the amount of …
a list of hazardous wastes that had been compiled in a bid to prevent their export to third world countries is likely to be revised and drawn up afresh. Nearly 100 countries would revise the list at a meeting held in Malaysia. The exercise will be a follow-up to the …
The swirl of rumour, assertion and denials which has long surrounded Malaysia's Bakun Dam continues despite Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed's late-1997 announcement of the project's indefinite postponement. The 10,000 people living in the reservoir zone continue to live under total uncertainty as to their future. In October last year, Malaysian …
Malaysia, the country that hopes to be the home of latest multimedia technology, is currently advising its people to "return to the soil'. Threatened by a looming economic crisis, Malaysia plans to lease out land for commercial vegetable farming, paddy cultivation and also revive its 300 abandoned fish ponds. "Green' …
