The new year began just as last year ended: bad news and then some more bad news for several critically endangered species. Within the space of just three weeks this year, as many wild Malayan tigers perished – two lost to poachers, one killed in a car accident while she…

Out of sight, out of mind. That is often our attitude when it comes to environmental issues. For a  few days or weeks, we get hot under the collar over yet another case of misconduct, yet another case of negligence, or yet another case of willful destruction. Yet often we…

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…

Malaysia regularly makes global headlines, but in recent times it hasn’t been to the country’s credit when it did so. First, a double whammy of tragedies in quick succession involving two Malaysia Airlines commercial flights cost several hundred lives and plunged the national carrier into a prolonged crisis. Next, the…

Buses emit 80% less carbon monoxide per passenger mile than a single-occupant auto.  Bus related accidents have one-twentieth the passenger fatality rates of automobile accidents.  Car accidents kill 40,000 people per year (and pollution kills just as many).  And riding the bus relieves stress and improves health. These facts and…

Sandwiched between the city of Ipoh and the dwindling wilderness of central Peninsular Malaysia lies a reminder of the distant past. Cave paintings – some as old as 5,000 years – decorate cliff walls at the cultural heritage site of Gua Tambun. There are few places in the world where…

For almost an entire year now, the Malaysian public has been asking its government for help with a frightening pollution problem:  irresponsible bauxite mining.  A tide of toxic dust and mud is issuing from open bauxite mining pits and scarcely-covered trucks, spreading a layer of carcinogenic material over towns, countries…

By now, most of the world knows about the scandal gripping Malaysia’s government.  If you’re new to the issue, the nutshell version is that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been accused of funneling some $700 million into his personal accounts through a “strategic development fund” called 1MDB that is…

The debate surrounding Malaysia’s bauxite mining industry is nearing a fever pitch.  National bauxite exports have exploded from around 100,000 tons in 2013 to over 2.5 million last year to what could be more than 20 million for 2015.  Legal and illegal mining operations have sprung up everywhere, spreading carcinogenic…

– Originally published on International Policy Digest by Clean Malaysia’s Editor in Chief Brandon Taylor – President Barack Obama has just packed his bags and embarked on a trip to Kuala Lumpur.  The reason for the trip is the third US-ASEAN Summit, and the meeting will have important implications for the environment…

For the first time in 10 years, Malaysia is official chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).  This honor rotates each year between member nations, and carries with it expectations of high achievement.  As one of ASEAN’s five founding members, Malaysia especially has been expected to lead…

“I was detained by Religious Department officials who stripped and sexually assaulted me. They were rough. My breast (implants) were squeezed. One of them took a baton and poked my genitals. Everyone – male and female officials – took photos of my naked body.” There are an estimated 10,000 transgender…

The battle to save Malaysia’s wildlife has been a long and troubled one.  Throughout Malaysia’s history, its rarified environments and exotic variety of life have been a source of both pride and agitation.  Rare and endangered species in Malaysia – in fact, all animal species in Malaysia – are caught…

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…

The following story has been drawn from the experience of Xiwen Wendy, an environmental student at University Putra Malaysia.  Wendy explores Malaysia’s outlook on Environmental Sciences, a discipline whose graduates could help stabilize their country’s environment and economy, but a subject that is undervalued and often misunderstood. Wendy writes: Looking…

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…