There ‘won’t be’ a Haze this Year

There ‘won’t be’ a Haze this Year

The annual transboundary haze that has long been a scourge on the lives and environment of Malaysians will not materialize this year. Or even if it does, I won’t be too bad. Certainly not like in 2015, when the Air Pollution Index (API) reached a level of more than 200, or “very unhealthy,” around parts of…

To ban Kapcai or not to Ban them; That’s the Question

To ban Kapcai or not to Ban them; That’s the Question

The legions of motorcycles can be a scourge on Malaysian towns and cities. There they constantly are, whirring, zigzagging and whizzing by, creating health hazards and polluting the air. So should “kapcai” motorcycles (small mopeds with engines of between 50cc and 150cc) be banned from city centers? Yes, if you ask Federal Territories…

Wan Junaidi: Malaysia is ‘committed’ to Saving its Forests

Wan Junaidi: Malaysia is ‘committed’ to Saving its Forests

Malaysia is fully committed to managing its forests sustainably. So says the country’s minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. Speaking at a UN conference on climate change in Marrakesh, Morocco, the minister stressed that Malaysia would protect its forests while it would also fulfill its commitments on tackling…

Malaysia wants Trade Ban lifted on wild Saltwater Crocodiles

Malaysia wants Trade Ban lifted on wild Saltwater Crocodiles

Malaysia wants the international trade ban on saltwater crocodiles listed. Good idea? That depends how you look at it. The crocs might certainly take issue with that, but many locals in Sarawak and Sabah might probably not. The country has asked for permission at the ongoing 17th Conference of Parties,…

Keeping a Beady Eye on Illegal Loggers

Keeping a Beady Eye on Illegal Loggers

Malaysia’s permanent forest reserves measure slightly over 18 million hectares around the country. They are home to 2.5 million trees. The government says it wants to boost that number to 4 million trees through its Sustainable Forest Management scheme. “[W]e held firmly to our commitment to maintain at least 50…

Sharks need better Protection in Sabah

Sharks need better Protection in Sabah

Consuming sharks, or their fins, isn’t illegal in Malaysia. It should be. Sharks are at risk of being driven extinct in Malaysian waters, and unless they are treated as protected species by law, these majestic fish will indeed go extinct in Sabah and elsewhere. The animals are considered simply as…

A Fifth of Malaysia might be under Water by 2100

A Fifth of Malaysia might be under Water by 2100

Hell and high water. That’s what awaits much of Malaysia by the end of the century – unless the country and the region at large fulfill their obligations to reduce their carbon emissions. So says Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, minister of Natural Resources and Environment. Specifically, the minister warns, a…

Wan Junaidi: Malaysia is ‘Committed’ to Saving its Forests. Is it?

Wan Junaidi: Malaysia is ‘Committed’ to Saving its Forests. Is it?

Malaysia’s government is committed to managing the country’s forests in a more sustainable manner. And that will involve setting further forests aside as protected areas in the Heart of Borneo biodiversity hotspot in Sabah and Sarawak as well as in the Central Forest Spine region in Peninsular Malaysia. So says…

Let’s Shame the Charlatans who Peddle Exotic Animal ‘Remedies’

Let’s Shame the Charlatans who Peddle Exotic Animal ‘Remedies’

Tigers and other critically endangered “exotic” animals are routinely poached for the silliest of reasons. That reason is that many people continue to believe that potions made from tiger bones or whiskers or other body parts possess magical curative properties. And they also continue to believe that talismans made from…

Malaysia’s Wildlife Conservation Act needs More Hiss and Snarl

Malaysia’s Wildlife Conservation Act needs More Hiss and Snarl

Malaysia’s Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 is tough on lawbreakers but not tough enough. In order for the law to serve as more of a deterrent to poachers and wildlife traffickers, it will need to have harsher penalties for both. The law, which was passed in 2010, replaced Malaysia’s Protection of…

Road Accidents take a Terrible Toll on Malaysia’s Wildlife

Road Accidents take a Terrible Toll on Malaysia’s Wildlife

It can be absolute carnage out there on Malaysia’s roads and not just for people. Over the past five years a total of 1,914 protected wild animals have perished in road accidents, according to Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, minister of Natural Resources and Environment. Does that sound like a lot?…

Going after Online Wildlife Traffickers

Going after Online Wildlife Traffickers

Fifty-nine. That’s the number of Malaysians who have been nabbed since 2014 for selling protected species online illegally. Twenty-six of them have already been sentenced; the rest are awaiting trial. This is according to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who has touted the number as proof that…

Malaysia will get better Air and Water quality Monitoring Systems

Malaysia will get better Air and Water quality Monitoring Systems

Malaysia’s government will be keeping a closer eye on the environment thanks to its new Environmental Quality Monitoring Programme (EQMP). Starting early next year, the system will gather data on air, river and sea conditions in real time and store all that information in its Environmental Data Centre. The system…

Ministry plans special Logging Areas

Ministry plans special Logging Areas

Few activities have inflicted as much damage on Malaysia’s environment as logging, but that may be about to change. Come 2018, logging will be allowed only in a few designated areas with the rest of the country’s trees finally declared off-limits once and for all to chainsaws and axes. That…

An Unlikely Hero for Malaysia’s Environment

An Unlikely Hero for Malaysia’s Environment

Negligence. Incompetence. Corruption. Impunity – long is the usual litany of complaints about Malaysian government officials. And not without cause, either. But then, there’s Natural Resources and Environment minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. The elderly politician, who was appointed to the post a year and a half ago, has emerged…