We want green hills in Penang, not concrete jungles
Over the past few years, hills in Penang have been slowly losing their green lustre and now blemished with concrete buildings. Houses and high-rise buildings have cropped up in the hill slopes in Paya Terubong, Sungai Ara, Tanjung Bungah, Bukit Gambier, Bukit Jambul, Batu Ferringhi, etc.
Hills serve a variety of important ecological functions ranging from regulating the microclimate to maintaining the hydrological regime. Local communities in Penang also benefit from the hills as a source of water, for outdoor activities and some just enjoy its greenery and aesthetical value. However these benefits are slowly diminishing as some of the hills in Penang are threatened by development projects.
The Perak state government must be more serious in protecting and conserving Permanent Reserved Forests and other natural protected areas in Perak
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) is disappointed with the Perak State Government for not taking serious measures to protect and conserve the Permanent Reserved Forests (PRF) and other natural protected areas in the State even though the Menteri Besar of Perak had made a commitment during the 41st World Forestry Day national level celebration on 21 March 2012.
Launch of the Nationwide Signature Campaign against nuclear power plants in Malaysia
The Malaysian Coalition Against Nuclear (MY-CAN) of which the CAP, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Third World Network and the Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility are members of, invites all concerned citizens of Malaysia (read on to know why you should be concerned about our government going nuclear), to attend the launch of our Nationwide Signature Campaign Against Nuclear Power Plants in Malaysia and be party to the online petition that is to be sent to the Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Members of the Cabinet and the National Energy Commission.
Malaysia’s nuclear project definitely on but why are the feasibility studies, EIA & RIA not made public?
We refer to the news item in which the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was quoted as saying ‘There may come a time when we may have to turn to nuclear power. But the government hasn’t decided on that yet’ (‘Nuclear Power “an option” ’, NST 27 March 2012 p3).
This appears to contradict the government’s clearly stated aim of ‘Deploying Nuclear Energy for Power Generation’ which is one of the Entry Point Projects (EPPII) in the Economic Transformation Programme Report (25 October 2010). The proposed plan is for two nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 2 gigawatts, with the first unit in operation by 2021.
Gazette water catchments
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) urges all state governments to take immediate measures to gazette all Permanent Reserved Forests that have been identified as water catchment areas in the country in line with the decision by the National Land Council.
