October 2014 – Consumers Association Penang

Kuala Lumpur Kepong, please leave Collingwood Bay

admin October 30, 2014 0 Comments

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) and Friends of the Orangutans (FOTO) urge Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK Bhd) to immediately withdraw from Lot 5 in Collingwood Bay, Papua New Guinea and cease all its activities. In a recent study commissioned by SAM in assessing the scale of Malaysian overseas FDI in oil palm plantation’s land bank, research showed that KLK Bhd owned about 44,000 hectares of land,...

Set Up Inquiry Into All Private Institutions of Higher Learning

admin October 29, 2014 0 Comments

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) refers to a media report regarding the ongoing Allianze University College of Medical Sciences (AUCMS) issue. CAP has been dealing with this matter ever since we received complaints from various staff and students of AUCMS, beginning earlier this year. CAP had alerted and had been continuously corresponding with a range of government bodies regarding the...

Quarry Activities in Batu Kawan: Tremors in Kampung Masjid, 200 Residents Endangered

admin October 28, 2014 0 Comments

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) urged the Penang State Government to investigate and take prompt action to resolve the problem faced by 200 persons from 38 families in Kampung Masjid near Batu Kawan in the district of Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS) whose lives are endangered by quarry activities near their residence. The problem that has persisted for more than five years has become...

IWK Proposes A Change In Its Tariff System

admin October 27, 2014 0 Comments

Recently, the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) was in a Meeting with Indah Water Consortium (IWK) and the National Water Service Commission (SPAN), where IWK announced its plans to change the current tariff system from the standard monthly rate to a system based on water consumption instead, which will incidentally increase the IWK bills for many consumers. They plan to implement this change...

Malaysia may lose by RM5 billion from trade in the TPPA, besides damage in other areas: The Government should thus exit from the TPPA negotiations

admin October 24, 2014 0 Comments

A new paper by a senior economist working in a United Nations agency has shown that Malaysia will not enjoy a net gain in terms of its trade balance as a result of joining the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). Instead, Malaysia will suffer a decline in its trade balance with the other eleven TPPA countries by nearly RM5 billion. This finding provides another major reason why Malaysia...

Eyewash for a sinister plan – Stopping issuance of logging licence is merely smokescreen for the push of forest plantation

admin October 14, 2014 0 Comments

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem again shocked the public when he announced on 9 October that ‘there would be no more issuance of logging licence’ until the problem of illegal logging is stopped. While Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) welcomes what would appear to be Tan Sri Adenan’s resolve to curb the scourge of illegal logging, we are not convinced that it will stop illegal...

Stop Wasting Money on Souvenirs!

admin October 13, 2014 0 Comments

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) commends the move by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah requesting that neither he nor the Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim are to be given souvenirs when they attend official state functions. During these trying times, it warms the heart to read of the humility and practicality of one of our nation’s leaders. He believes that our...

Invasion of chemicals in our daily life: Opt for healthy lifestyle by avoiding hazardous chemicals

admin October 11, 2014 0 Comments

CAP views with dismay the presence of a wide range of hazardous chemicals in consumer products including food items. Malaysians are of the mindset that any new consumer products that are advertised are safe for consumption. The truth is some of these products carry with them toxic chemicals harmful to health. Children’s favourite junk food and processed food are saddled with artificial...

Industry first or people first? – Government of Malaysia suppresses oil palm smallholders in the interests of industry

admin October 8, 2014 0 Comments

Thousands of oil palm smallholders in Sarawak are severely impacted by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) directive prohibiting traders from purchasing fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) of ‘suspicious’ origins. The directive came into effect since 1 July, 2014. It has come to Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)’s knowledge that at least in the Baram region of the Miri division of Sarawak, the...

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