Category: Development EN

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) is extremely saddened to learn about the deaths and ill health of the Bateq community members in Kampung Koh, Gua Musang, Kelantan. It is indeed shocking that days have gone by and the government authorities have yet to ascertain the actual cause of the deaths and the deterioration of health among the Bateq community. While we welcome the emergency meeting called on by...

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) supports the New Straits Times editorial published on April 24, 2019, titled, NST Leader: “A meaningful future for the community.”  The editorial was written in conjunction with the recently held 2019 Orang Asli Convention, where the Prime Minister announced the plan to develop a National Orang Asli Development Blueprint.  SAM welcomes the announcement of the...

With Thaipusam and Chinese New Year just around the corner, local coconut growers and sellers encountered a challenging situation to sell local coconuts that are priced between RM1.20 and RM1.50 each against those from Indonesia that are priced between RM0.80 and RM1.00. The reason is that coconuts imported from Indonesia cost only RM550 per tonne, or about RM0.55 each. Again, we can see that it...

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) calls on the Malaysian government to urgently take all measures necessary to stop the impending illegal demolition of the Palestinian village of Khan al Ahmar, located in the occupied West Bank.  SAM is a member of Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) and we have been alerted by our Palestinian member of FOEI, PENGON, about the grave and outrageous situation...

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) welcomes the Federal Government’s decision to cancel the implementation of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.  On August 20, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had announced in China the cancellation of the ECRL for now. However, SAM hopes that the decision to cancel the project is not only because of the excessive cost but had taken into account its...

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is shocked that the Penang State Government is seeking a RM 1 billion loan from the Federal Government to jump start the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) to facilitate the Pan Island Link (PIL) and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects. Earlier, the Penang Chief Minister Chow KonYeow and his predecessor who is presently the Finance Minister, had...

The 23rd round of negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is taking place in Bangkok, Thailand this week. The mega- Asian trade deal will impact the lives of over 3 billion people, yet a new study which is available at https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/RCEP-trade-deal-secret-deal.pdf   reveals how the deal fails international standards of...