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 […]
environment
Futility
By Ong Tou
Animals often suffer the impact of climate change sooner than humans do, and have less means to deal with it.
Protecting the sea turtles
By Gan Pei Ling
AN isolated beach northeast of Redang Island, Chagar Hutang, is a nesting beach for two out of the four sea turtle species found in Malaysia — green and hawksbill turtles. A few hundred of them come ashore to nest annually. Sea turtles often travel thousands of kilometres from their feeding grounds back to the beach […]
Protecting our corals
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
IN July 2010, several popular dive sites in Peninsular Malaysia were closed due to coral bleaching. Marine Park Department director-general Abd Jamal Mydin told reporters that in Pulau Payar in Kedah for example, an estimated 60% to 90% of corals were affected by the bleaching. Besides the peninsula, signs of coral bleaching have also been […]
Addressing climate change
By Gan Pei LingWORLD leaders may continue to defend themselves, but it will not change the fact that they failed to live up to the world’s expectations at the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15). Indeed, the Copenhagen Accord — the “deal” that governments agreed to take note of at COP15 — did not spell out the […]
Ratepayers as beggars
By KW MakNot doing wonders for property value(© Robyn Gallagher / Flickr) IN a previous column, a reader requested for help to remove rubbish in Section 5, Petaling Jaya. The rubbish had not been removed for some time. Such requests are not isolated. Other complaints are about pot holes or illegally parked cars outside commercial areas like […]
Concern over climate change down
By Gan Pei LingConcern over climate change has decreased in Malaysia (CC BY 2.0 Azrainman / Flickr) PETALING JAYA, 7 Dec 2009: Concern over climate change has decreased in Malaysia in the midst of fears over the global recession, an internet-based survey involving 12 countries said. The HSBC Climate Confidence Monitor 2009 found that Malaysians were more concerned […]
Are we coordinated over green?
By Koh Lay ChinTHEY say green is the new black. The buzzword of all buzzwords. The new philanthropy favoured by supermodels, Hollywood actors, politicians and that irritating friend living down your road. I’ve heard that it’s “in” to label anything green these days, and that the tendency to join the bandwagon is but a disingenuous public relations-centred […]
Making sense of COP15
By Cindy ThamPreparations for the conference are underway in Copenhagen (© Claus Starup / Bella Center A/S) THERE is already a flurry of heated debate and innovative awareness campaigns in the run-up to the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference, which will be held in December 2009 in Denmark. Expect more as government officials, scientists, civil society […]
Surviving climate change
By Gan Pei LingExhibition by regional coalition People’s Actions on Climate Change during the Asian Youth Climate Workshop (© Gan Pei Ling) “WE should do it for our children and future generations!” This is one of the most common rallying cries used by some individuals and organisations to convince the public to take action to combat climate change. […]
