Come 2030, there will be 200,000 jobs in all in Malaysia’s green technology sector. An ambitious goal, yes. A worthy one too. To make it happen, the government will invest RM180 billion as part of its Green Technology Master Plan (GTMP). “The GTMP lays the foundation for a holistic shift…

Vehicles powered by alternatives to fossil fuel are on the roll. Literally. The Japanese automaker Toyota is rolling out a new line of vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells. A concept version of a long-haul truck with the car manufacturer’s new hydrogen-based engine in it will set out with a…

HIV/Aids, malaria, tuberculosis. These deadly diseases continue to take horrible tolls on the lives of millions of people, especially in developing countries. Yet the combined death toll from these three diseases pales in comparison with the death toll caused by pollution. So say researchers who have published a study in…

We’ve all been there, have we not? In search of that perfect selfie, we may have placed ourselves at risk, such as by leaning over the edge of a cliff. Or we may have placed others at risk, such as by using endangered animals as props for selfies. Sadly, using…

Recently some two dozens protesters gathered at Malaysia’s consulate in New York. They were holding signs and calling on tourists to boycott the country. The reason: Lasah, an ageing work elephant, remains in bondage at Langkawi Elephant Adventures (LEA) amusement park on Langkawi island in Kedah. The 37-year-old pachyderm was born…

The juvenile zebra shark was recently on sale at a market stall in Miri, Sarawak. When Iqbal Abdollah, chairman of the local branch of the Malaysian Nature Society, saw it, he instantly knew there was a problem. This species is listed as “endangered” on the IUCN’s Red List. Therefore, it should…

Forestry officials are our eyes in forests. They are tasked with keeping an eye on logging to ensure that no illegal activity takes places in the country’s much-depleted forests. But what happens when the eyes of these officials are willfully blind to such logging? What happens is this: loggers can…

Clouded leopards are elusive creatures that hunt at night and spend most of their time away from prying eyes within dense forests. Thus, estimating their numbers in places like Sabah’s forests is a challenging undertaking. Yet a team of scientists led by researchers at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU)…

Deforestation continues apace in Sarawak, and much of that deforestation is illegal, or at the very least suspect. Sarawak needs to ensure that no forest is cleared illegally and that all trees that are cut down are done so in a sustainable manner. With this in mind, the prominent conservationist…

In one painting titled “Mother Earth Sustains,” a voluptuous woman suckles a young babe in arms while a tiger lounges by her side as if the stately predator was but a pussycat. In another artwork entitled “The Gift,” Mother Earth cuddles a tiger in a lotus-flecked pool beside an orangutan…

When it comes to protecting Malaysia’s world-famous wildlife, it often feels like the proverbial “one step forward, two steps back.” Officials in Sabah, for instance, report making progress in their ongoing clampdown on the sale of so-called bushmeat in Sabah. One step forward. But then comes news that there has…

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to celebrate. Or at least it’s time to be cautiously optimistic. The reason: Malaysia’s government has just unveiled an ambitious strategic plan to create a resource-efficient economy with significantly lower carbon emissions. The announcement of this grand plan, dubbed the Green Technology Master Plan (GTMP),…

Already more than half of the world’s population (54%) lives in towns and cities. That number, according to the UN, could well swell to two-thirds, or 66%, by 2050 when another 2.5 billion people will have been added to urban populations around the planet. The question, though, is just what…

When wild elephants begin trampling around plantations in search of food, they may unwittingly place themselves at risk. Irate farmers may take their anger out on the gentle giants by shooting or poisoning them. That is why officials and conservationists have to ask fast whenever elephants show up at plantations….

Air pollution is bad. We all know that. Yet what you may not know is just how bad it can be when it comes to our health. As we have explained here on Clean Malaysia repeatedly, prolonged exposure to air pollution can lead to several debilitating medical conditions from preterm…

Malaysian cities are chockfull of cars. They cause plenty of traffic congestion and, worse, pollute the air. The country has one of the world’s highest per capita rates of car ownership and weaning citizens off the habit of driving around might be a Sisyphean task. So what’s the solution? One…