A gold mine that could come to dominate 1,000 hectares of protected forest in the Eastern Malaysian state of Sabah has been proposed, and is now under revision. The idea has excited a government hungry for development, but doubtless brings back memories of environmental catastrophe for the majority of Malaysians….
Malaysia’s recent boom of poorly-regulated bauxite mining has resulted in what could easily be considered an environmental disaster. Created during bauxite extraction, red dust laden with heavy metals and radioactive elements is washing into rivers, bogging up fields and blanketing cities with a rust-colored layer of fallen sediment. Already, doctors…
Spirits were lifted and hopes raised for sustainability last year when plans for Malaysia’s first geothermal power plant were publicized in Sabah, Eastern Malaysia. After the discovery of geothermal surface manifestations in a 50 square-kilometer area near the town of Tawau, it was determined that the area had the potential to…
Residents of Bukit Goh, a city near Kuantan in Eastern Peninsular Malaysia, were given a jolt of excitement late last year when bauxite mining companies offered them between RM300,000 and RM800,000 (US$72,000 – $193,000) for every four hectares of their land that contained bauxite. After mulling it over, about 200…
After years of unregulated bauxite mining activity in the Malaysian state of Pahang, scientific surveys have proven without a doubt that the pollution worrying residents and causing them to fall ill is beyond acceptable levels. The findings – which will support public outcry for the regulation or scale-down of bauxite…
A strain of rice that produces higher yields with less fertilizer will help Malaysian farmers provide food security and sustainability for their country in a single stroke. Rice is the most common grain for both production and consumption in Malaysia. It generates important revenues for Malaysia from exports and has…
Asian Metal, a business that provides advice on pricing and trading activity to mining companies, recently visited a number of mines in Malaysia. Reports from the visits reveal a truly astounding export quantity of bauxite and suggest potential changes to bauxite mining in Malaysia that could make it even worse…
There’s a storm of controversy surrounding Malaysia’s recent rise as a major bauxite producer. Bauxite mining has become a very profitable industry for the struggling country, but the pollution it creates is poisoning Malaysian citizens and ecosystems. About RM750 million (US$170.6 mil) has so far been generated from bauxite mining…
Illegal bauxite mining is quickly degrading life of all kinds in Malaysia. The country’s people, environment, and potential for development are all suffering from a rush of poorly regulated mining operations – but despite promises to shut down mines, politicians have not been taking action. Pahang, a populous state in…
Heeding reports of devastating pollution and lending an ear to local unrest, The Malaysian state of Terengganu has frozen all new applications for bauxite mining. “So far we have decided to freeze [applications] and not give permission to any party that wants to mine bauxite, although some of them are…
Early this year a ship loaded with bauxite suddenly capsized and disappeared beneath the waves, leaving just one of its 19 crew members alive and spilling its entire shipment into the ocean. Bauxite mining in Malaysia is intensely controversial for several reasons, and this capsizing raises yet another – the…
An organic farm and resort in Malaysia has been teaching food health, sustainable agriculture and green eating to all comers for the past 18 years. This kind of education is hard to find in Malaysia, but is a breath of fresh air for a country struggling to achieve sustainability. Nestled…
In the past year, Malaysia has emerged as one of the world’s leading producers of bauxite, the raw ore used to create aluminum. The discovery and feverish exploitation of bauxite in Malaysia (a reaction to Indonesia’s drop-out as a supplier to bauxite-hungry China) has been a boon to the nation’s…
A recent sizing-up of illegal logging in Malaysia revealed that the Forest Department of Sarawak conducted 240 raids, confiscated 12,000 cubic meters of timber and submitted a total of 122 investigation papers to the state government as of July this year. Much of this legal action has to do with…
The Borneo elephant, otherwise known as the pygmy elephant, lives in the tropical forests of the island for which it is named. The pygmy elephant’s primary habitats are the wooded areas of northeastern Borneo. Most of these reaches are located in the Malaysian state of Sabah, and are also prime…
Malaysian residents are in their fourth year of protest against the world’s largest rare earth mineral processing facility. Built in Kuantan in 2012 by Australian mining company Lynas Corporation, the facility has been met with vigorous opposition for its entire existence – but despite public opposition, plummeting mineral prices and…