POLITICIANS today ignore environmental issues at their peril. The year 2012 year saw major environmental protests against controversial projects in Malaysia. What environmental “hot potatoes” will politicians have to deal with carefully this year, especially with the general election around the corner?
baram
Can local govt elections protect public interest and the environment?
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
IF we could bring back local government elections, councillors could at least be held accountable for giving the nod to projects without the communities’ knowledge and approval.
Development? Really? For whom?
As if Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
MOST of us living in Peninsular Malaysia take electricity for granted as we have hardly experienced a blackout since the 1990s. But how many of us have stopped for a moment to think where the electricity, that allows us to turn on our TVs and computers, comes from? What are the impacts of the power […]
“I don’t know if I can really call myself a Malaysian”
By Gan Pei Ling
IN Oct 2010, indigenous rights activist Nicholas Mujah was arrested and remanded for three days with seven others from his village for an alleged fire in a logging camp. The Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) secretary-general has been fighting for the rights of Sarawak indigenous peoples to their native customary land since around 1980 and […]
A short-lived joy in Baram, Sarawak
By Gan Pei Ling
IN March 2010, indigenous peoples from Long Teran Kanan, Baram in Sarawak were overjoyed when they won a 13-year legal battle against IOI Pelita Plantation. The Miri High Court recognised the Kayan and Kenyah communities’ native customary rights over the disputed land. However, their joy was short-lived. IOI Pelita Plantation filed an appeal against the […]
Rape in PJ more serious than in Baram?
By Tarani PalaniA CHILD is reportedly raped by her bus driver in Petaling Jaya. Government agencies, and an opposition Member of Parliament, call for immediate and strict action. Compare that to the responses or lack thereof that greeted evidence that Penan girls and women were being raped by truck drivers from logging companies in the Sarawak interiors.
No replies for 22 June 2010
By Koh Lay ChinTHE following Members of Parliament (MPs) have not replied to the six questions under the MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project as of Tuesday, 22 June 2010, the end of a two-week deadline: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, constituency: Bagan Datok; and Jacob Dungau Sagan, constituency: Baram.
Govt won’t commit to making Penan report public
By Zedeck SiewKUALA LUMPUR, 18 June 2009: The government is still unwilling to commit to making public the Penan task force report. Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil continued to be noncommittal when she was asked about the findings of a task force that was set up to investigate reports of sexual […]
The terror of government silence
By Jacqueline Ann SurinPenan child (© Robin Hanbury-Tenison/Survival, pic courtesy of Survival International) DATUK Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was the perfect picture of concern and care on the front page of The Star newspaper on 28 May 2009. The newly re-appointed women, family and community development minister was photographed at the Serdang Hospital with a five-year-old child who […]
