A new addition to Kuala Lumpur’s host of luxury residential developments is being planned.  Like others, it comes complete with amenities like a 50-yard lap pool, 100 retail shops, a garden lounge, penthouse and other recreational facilities.  Unlike the rest, the project has been designed from the very beginning with…

Tackling the serious issues of poor recycling rates and waste management in Malaysia, a large shopping center in the bustling city of Petaling Jaya has championed the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) with a recycling and used product buy-back program. Home to 180 ‘tenants’ (shops and vendors like Ace…

Malaysia is the biggest consumer of seafood in Southeast Asia, but its love for marine cuisine is putting the future of the entire fishing industry at risk. According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, consumption of fish in Malaysia increased by 150 per cent since 1961.  Malaysians now…

One of the world’s biggest solar panel producers is about to open up shop in Penang, Malaysia.  Excitement has been rallied over the over JA Solar’s brand new RM300 million (US$70 million) facility and it’s been hailed as a furtherment of Malaysia’s goal to become a regional hub for green…

For some years now, Malaysia has had its eyes set on the goal of becoming a regional hub for green technology.  By driving socio-economic growth with green industries like renewable energy, environmental technology and sustainable construction, Malaysia hopes to expand in a way that profits its people and environment as…

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement – an enormous ‘free-trade’ agreement between Malaysia, the United States, Australia and numerous other countries – is steadily marching towards ratification.  Billed as a catalyst of international trade and booster of economies, the multinational agreement is extremely controversial as it includes many laws that…

As of September, Malaysians were officially required to recycle.  Considering that Malaysia has a less than 10% recycling rate – approximately 90% of waste going into overflowing landfills that release greenhouse gases, leech contaminants into the soil and propagate dengue fever-carrying mosquitos and a terrible odor – this is welcome…

“Whether it is air pollution in China, haze in Singapore, or water scarcity in India, the evidence that environmental and social issues present growing risks to economic growth is mounting across Asia.” Thus begins the executive summary of a brand new World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report singling out banks in…

Kuala Lumpur loses an estimated RM5.5billion ($1.3billion) in productivity every year due to traffic.  In fact, every one of Malaysia’s major cities has a nasty traffic problem, and together they create a big, ugly obstacle to sustainable development.  With bus lines backed up, public transportation expansions years away from completion and…

Seven years ago, a little film festival focused on environmental movies kicked off in Kuala Lumpur.  Now in its eighth successful year, the International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF) is the biggest and longest-running event of its kind in Malaysia.  Conceived and organized by environmental NGO EcoKnights, the festival…

Amsterdam has just given a final report on the horrific crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the Boeing 777 passenger airplane that went down unexpectedly over the Ukraine on July 17 of last year.  Exhaustive examination of the wreckage confirmed suspicions that the airplane was shot down by a missile…

What happens when the largest seagrass bed in Malaysia disappears due marine pollution and coastal development?  We may soon find out, and the answer won’t be a welcome one. Just off the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia, sandwiched between Malaysia and Singapore, sits the uninhabited island of Pulau Merambong.  It’s…

Years of illegal forest burning in Indonesia have created a haze epidemic that’s become a serious problem for more than breathability.  The issue has taken a massive toll on development in much of Southeast Asia. Between school closures, respiratory health issues, environmental destruction and money spent on disaster mitigation, these…

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…

A recent analysis of dry El Nino weather patterns suggests that they could persist even longer than usual this year – into rice planting seasons for Malaysia. The threat of El Nino on rice farming still looms in Malaysia’s future, but its effects are being felt now in the US. …

Malaysia was singled out for its innovative achievements upon the release of this year’s Global Innovation Index rankings earlier this month.  The honorable mention speaks to Malaysia’s social and economic growth, but leaves something to be explained considering the country’s troubled state. A worldwide rating system for innovation, the Global…