The island of Penang has often been heralded as a forerunner in Malaysian sustainable development (such as it is), but that does not necessarily mean local authorities never put a foot wrong. In fact, they are false-stepping right now. An environmental NGO, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, has warned that proposed new coastal reclamation projects…

Malaysia is a country blessed with natural resources – minerals, forests, fertile soils. Yet one of its resources is a substance that, thanks to the sheer abundance of it, many locals tend to take for granted: water. The nation’s total coastline runs for a whopping 4,675 kilometers, making Malaysia home…

Sharks are wonderful creatures and they do not belong on a plate. That was the message of a three-day program organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Malaysian chapter and Penang State’s government. Running from January 16 to 18 at a popular mall on the island, the “My Fin My…

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…