March 2017 – Consumers Association Penang

Depression: World’s leading disability

admin March 30, 2017 0 Comments

A recent report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on ‘Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders estimates that in 2015 there were over 1.1 million cases of depressive disorders in Malaysia . The report further states that depression is a major contributor to suicide deaths accounting for 800,000 or 1.5% of all deaths globally. If we extrapolate this estimate locally, in...

RENTAL HOUSING IS THE WAY TO GO

admin March 22, 2017 0 Comments

Feeling the pinch because of the rising cost of living? Let’s not forget about housing woes. Currently, the so-called ‘affordable housing’ is priced from RM100,000 to RM400,000; certainly beyond the reach of the working class particularly for the younger generation. On top of that, most of the available housing are of the higher price range leaving a limited number of lower priced ones up...

FAO definition must recognize that plantations are not forests!

admin March 21, 2017 0 Comments

On 21 March, the International Day of Forests, 200 organisations are reminding the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that its misleading forest definition dating back to 1948 must be changed. The definition has allowed the plantations industry to hide the devastating ecological and social impacts of large-scale monoculture tree plantations behind a positive forest image. FAO’s forest...

PRICE TAGGING LAWS MUST BE ENFORCED

admin March 20, 2017 0 Comments

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) calls on the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-Operatives and Consumerism to enforce the Price Control Act 1946 Amendment 1973, Section 8 (1) which requires traders to display price tags on goods that are meant for sale. Our repeated survey around Penang Island showed that any traders are blatantly flouting the Price Control Act. The results of the survey...

Treat alien fish species with the same concerns as oil spills

admin March 17, 2017 0 Comments

Sahabat Alam Malaysia learnt to our horror, as reported in a Bahasa Malaysia daily, the irreversible damage to our environment with the invasion of an alien fish species, in this particular case - the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) into our rivers and ecosystem. Alien species that enter a biological niche where they have never before existed can be difficult to control and predict, which...

RIVERS IN BAYAN LEPAS ARE SEVERELY POLLUTED

admin March 16, 2017 0 Comments

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) urges the City Council of Penang Island (MBPP) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) to take urgent action to address the pollution of the Keluang and Nipah Rivers near Bayan Lepas. The pollution of these two rivers for the past 10 years has caused the water of both the rivers to become black and muddy. The rivers are not only an...

Project Without EIA Approval Threatens Coastal Mangroves and Livelihood of Fisher Communities: SAM Urges Reclamation Project in Kuala Kedah is Stopped Immediately

admin March 15, 2017 0 Comments

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) urges the Department of Environment to take urgent action to stop the reclamation project at Kampung Tepi Laut near Kuala Kedah because it has contravened environmental regulations and has destroyed mangroves and threatens source of income of coastal fisher community here. SAM is upset with the Kedah government and the local authority for allowing the activities to be...

CAP calls for a #BetterDigitalWorld 2017

admin March 14, 2017 0 Comments

CAP calls for a #BetterDigitalWorld in ensuring the safety of internet users in conjunction with this year’s Consumers World Day theme as proposed by Consumers International, “Consumer Rights in the Digital Age”. In the digital world today, everything is at the tip of our fingers. However, do we as consumers ensure the safety of our “wellbeing” in the digital world? Over the years,...

Ahead of Chile Meeting, 200+ Civil Society Groups Tell Their Trade Ministers: Do Not Resuscitate the TPP

admin March 10, 2017 0 Comments

As trade ministers from across the Pacific rim prepare to discuss the future of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Chile next week, more than 200 organizations representing citizens across the Pacific Rim urged their governments to accept that the TPP model has failed and to engage in a more open and democratic process to develop genuine alternatives that confront the economic, social and...

SAM Supports Call for Protection of Ulu Muda Forest

admin March 9, 2017 0 Comments

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) supports the call by Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) for an immediate ban of logging in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve and to gazette the forest reserve as a water catchment area. It was reported recently that the Kedah Forestry Department had issued a stop-work order to a company conducting logging activities in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve in Sik...

Consumers Association Penang

Month: March 2017