In a display of well-planned corporate social responsibility, Malaysian sustainable construction firm Green Eco Builder has offered a free solar power setup to a community building. Applications closed in mid-August for a clever corporate social responsibility initiative in which a large solar panel system will be installed for free atop…

One of the largest ecological experiments in recorded history is being conducted in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.  It has to do with three hot-button issues – palm oil, deforestation, and biodiversity – and it hopes to find a way to point them all in the direction of sustainability. Launched in 2010,…

A dangerous and potentially deadly monkey-borne parasite has reared its head in Malaysia.  Once rarely seen in humans, it is now responsible for more than two-thirds of hospitalized malaria patients in Malaysian Borneo.  The cause?  Deforestation in Malaysia. Plasmodium knowlesi is a Southeast Asian malaria parasite that, in a healthy…

Reflective panels that capture the sun’s light, a roof that gets watered, and a central tower shaded by swathes of creeping ivy characterize a recent extension to the JST Malaysia factory in Johor.  The project aims to use the power of rainwater, sunlight, wind, geothermal heat and vegetation to minimize…

In a Malaysia swamped in traffic, tangled with highways and choking on exhaust fumes, one would think any alternative to driving would be embraced.  Frustrating hours spent in gridlock, transportation infrastructure stretched well beyond its capacity and the world’s second-highest car prices call for something cheap, sustainable and that utilizes…

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…

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….

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…

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…

More than a month after they started burning, Indonesian forest fires that caused a crippling haze epidemic are still raging strong.  The record-breaking burn is due largely to palm oil practices that dry out, expose and otherwise make the peatland beneath them extremely susceptible to fires.  As a result of…

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…

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…

A famous forest park in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands was recently forced to close because of an excessive accumulation of litter.  Park tour guides were understandably upset about the closure of Mossy Forest park, their main source of income being that tourist attraction.  This kind of littering is common in Malaysia,…

Known for its dense tropical forests, beautiful islands and staggering natural biodiversity, Malaysia has a reputation as an environmental treasure.  You’ll find pictures of Malaysian jungle in nature magazines, backgrounding vacation advertisements and pasted onto any website trying for some reason to remind readers of just how breathtaking a place…

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…