People & Environment Archives

Sarawak a preferred investment destination

KUCHING: Sarawak remains a preferred investment destination, ranking among the top three states in Malaysia in the last six years, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

He said Sarawak recorded RM8.6bil worth of investments in the manufacturing sector last year, the third highest after Johor (RM30.5bil) and Selangor (RM18.9bil).

‘RM44 mln for Sabah, Sarawak hill padi farmers’

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 56,446 Sabah and Sarawak hill padi farmers will benefit from the RM44 million allocation under the Hill/Huma Padi Fertilisers and Pesticides (SBRPB) Scheme, said Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub.

He said under the scheme 11,684 farmers in Sabah and 44,762 farmers in Sarawak would receive subsidies when the planting season begins in early August.

Petronas mendorong syarikat tempatan untuk maju bersama dalam industri minyak dan gas

Source: Sabah Kita

Facing Up To Environmental Realities

Let’s start by sharing out some blame. Back in 2007 the EU set about enacting one of the world’s worst ever policies cloaked with ‘good intentions’, namely it’s Renewable Energy Directive that stated 20% of the bloc’s energy consumption should be produced from ‘renewable energy sources’ by 2020.

Renewable Energy was defined as including bio-fuel from sources such as soya, palm oil and the rest. In terms of tackling climate change there could hardly have been a more counter-productive measure and the decision owed to what must go down as one of the most evil and cynical lobbying exercises in history.

Sarawak can invest in or give away its future

In October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report outlining strategies the world can pursue to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius and maintain healthy economies and ecosystems. But unless we are smart about how we implement that blueprint, it could cause irreparable damage to the world’s great rivers.

This may sound like a luxury for the richest nations, but it is key to building a prosperous Sarawak. The panel’s report urges a rapid transition to low-carbon, renewable sources of electricity. That call to action could trigger expanded investment in hydropower, which is currently the world’s main source for non-carbon energy (70 percent as of 2017). But if that development follows the pattern of earlier dam-building, it could accelerate an alarming loss of rivers and their resources, including of the fish that feed hundreds of millions of people.

Techie Monkey wins Sarawak #MyGeek-a-thon

KUCHING: Team ‘Techie Monkey’ from SMK Bintulu emerged champion in the Sarawak #MyGeek-a-thon competition by showcasing their ‘Sustainable Living Systems’ inventions.

Held in conjunction with the Sarawak Career and Training (SCaT) Fair 2019 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, the competition also saw ‘Static’ from SMK Lutong place second.

The winners received their awards from Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg during announcement of winners on Saturday.

Sarawak natives bringing Mulu forest dispute to Unesco’s attention

MIRI: The Mulu National Park natives, currently staging human blockades against an oil-palm giant to stop forest-clearing, are bringing their fight to the world stage.

These disgruntled Mulu natives have lodged an official complaint to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) headquarters in Paris.

Mulu is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Sarawakian jeweller Left & Right tells stories through its unique pieces

For high school sweethearts Eileen Phoan Pei Fang and Fabian Tan Sze Chen, it all began as a hobby/business during their university days, mostly to help supplement living expenses. Phoan made delicate beaded jewellery while Tan helped her sell it. “She was actually the creative mind behind the business. She was the one crafting and designing the pieces and then I came in and helped her out with sales,” he says.

In 2015, the duo won the Malaysian championship of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, and went on to represent the country in Washington DC. It was then that they began to see a future in their business.

Petronas’ new foundation to centralise CSR work

Petronas launched a new foundation to streamline its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities for greater transparency and governance.

Called Yayasan Petronas (YP), the launch of the foundation was officiated by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and is meant to deliver broader and deeper impact of its CSR activities across communities nationwide.

Stop discarding e-waste indiscriminately — Penguang

SIBU: There should not be any reason for the public to dump electronic waste (e-waste) indiscriminately, in view of the availability of many collection centres in Sarawak for such disposal.

Assistant Minister of Local Government Datu Dr Penguang Manggil gave this advice in commenting about a recent incident, where a television set was dumped into a bulk bin near a housing area here.

“There are adequate e-waste collection centres in the state. However, two possibilities could happen – the ‘could-not-care-less’ attitude that is still prevalent among Malaysians today; and the public not aware of (the existence of) such centres.