The international team investigating the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 two years ago today has released a second interim statement. It is very brief, and reveals no new conclusions. The three-page […]
Zika spreads like wildfire, and there are more questions than answers
The Zika virus is spreading like wildfire in Brazil and other countries of South America, and is causing international alarm. The symptoms of the virus itself are usually relatively mild and it […]
Malaysian parliament gives green light to the Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Malaysian parliament has voted yes to signing and ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Both houses of parliament are dominated by the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition so the vote is no surprise. […]
Malaysians rally against ‘back-door colonisation’ via the TPP
Thousands of Malaysians turned out yesterday (Saturday) to protest against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is to be debated in the Malaysian parliament next week, and is scheduled to be signed […]
Campaigners condemn Malaysian Senate’s ‘rubber stamping’ of draconian security Bill
Malaysian lawyers and human rights activists continue to condemn in the harshest terms a new Bill that has been pushed through parliament and will give sweeping powers to a security council headed […]
Peat drainage for pulp and oil palm ‘leads to fires, subsidence, and floods’
A new report published by the non-governmental organisation Wetlands International states that almost all of the recent fire hotspots on Sumatra’s environmentally precious Kampar Peninsula started on oil palm and pulp wood […]
Malaysian civil society groups launch protest against draconian security Bill
Lawyers and civil society groups in Malaysia have launched a protest campaign against a draconian new National Security Council (NSC) Bill that has been passed in the lower house of parliament and […]
Malaysian government pushes draconian Security Council Bill through parliament
The Malaysian government has just pushed through an extraordinarily draconian National Security Council Bill, which gives sweeping powers to a security council headed by the Prime Minister, Najib Razak. The council will […]
Ambassadors for great ape conservation join call for action on Indonesia’s forest fires
Ambassadors for the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) have called on the Indonesian government to ban the use of fire to clear land if sustainable practices cannot be implemented. For months, huge […]
Indigenous activists join forces to stop mega-dams
The planned mega-dams in the state of Sarawak on Malaysian Borneo would not only flood huge areas of rainforest and displace tens of thousands of indigenous people, they would cause the loss […]
Malaysian government ‘creating a culture of fear’, says Human Rights Watch
The Malaysian government has gone on a binge of prosecutions of critics and is using broad and vaguely worded laws to criminalise peaceful expression, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says in a new […]
Indigenous anti-dam activists converge in Sarawak, Malaysia
Delegates from indigenous communities around the world, who gathered in northern Borneo to mark the two-year anniversary of the blockades against the proposed Baram mega-dam in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, have […]
Forest fires rage on in Indonesia, endangering people and wildlife
Massive forest fires are still blazing in Central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, causing life-threatening levels of pollution, coming dangerously close to the base camp of The Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project, […]
Asia for Animals: a catalogue of cruelty – with glimmers of hope
Delegates at the Asia for Animals conference in Kuching on Malaysian Borneo heard about the horrors of the dog meat trade, the decline in animal populations, and the devastation being caused by […]
Asia for Animals conference: the horrors of illegal wildlife trading and live exports
In a call to action at the 2015 Asia for Animals conference, the CEO of International Animal Rescue, Alan Knight, urged delegates to call on YouTube and Google to adopt an animal […]
Indonesia and Singapore take action against companies as forest fires continue to blaze
The Indonesian and Singaporean governments are taking action against companies accused of being responsible for forest fires that are still raging on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, causing fatalities and untold […]
Indonesians choke in crisis-level pollution as forests continue to burn
Large swathes of the islands of Sumatra and Borneo are still blanketed by choking pollution caused by illegal forest burning. The number of haze-related fatalities is difficult to calculate, but deaths are […]
Malaysia’s human rights commission condemns racism and provocation at ‘red shirt’ rally
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, Suhakam, has expressed its concern over “the irresponsible and confrontational actions” of certain protesters during Wednesday’s “red shirt” rally in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Suhakam […]
Police use water cannon against ‘red shirt’ protesters in Malaysia
The “red shirt” rally held in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday degenerated into violence when a group of protesters tried to break through police barricades and push their way into the […]
Pollution at danger levels as choking haze blankets Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore
As a choking haze caused by illegal forest fires continues to blanket whole regions of three countries in Southeast Asia, a state of emergency has been declared in two Indonesian provinces, and […]