Remarks

Islanders Squeezed Out by Mainland Boatmen

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Redang Island is groaning under the weight of day-trippers and both nature and locals are suffering, warns marine advocate Julian Hyde.

IN JUNE, Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) was one of several organisations that raised concerns about a video taken of Teluk Dalam, Redang Island, with so many boats lined up along the beach that it was scarcely possible to move between them.

The community marine conservation group that we support on Redang (Redang Marine Conservation Group (RMCG) led local efforts to raise awareness of this growing problem.

(Feature pic: Some days, the Teluk Dalam beach is neck-deep in day-tripping boats, 90% of which are from the main land | Photo by imanredang)

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Remarks

Save the Endangered Parrots at Tanjung Aru

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Tanjung Aru’s beloved rare parrots must not be relocated, say birdwatchers Amar-Singh HSS and Ron Pudin.

TANJUNG ARU Beach in Sabah is an idyllic beach with tall old Casuarina trees, lovely sand and some of the most magnificent sunsets in the world. Located on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu its proximity to the city makes Tanjung Aru Beach a great place to bring the family and have a peaceful day out. Many tourists visit the site daily.

Equally important is that Tanjung Aru Beach is home to an endangered parrot, the Blue-naped Parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis). Blue-naped Parrots are medium sized parrots with green plumage, blue on the nape and mid-crown, broad orange-buff edging on wings and yellow on the undersurface of the tail.

(Feature image: Little is known about the global  population of the Blue-naped Parrot but the number of locations it is found is declining  |  Photo: Amar-Singh HSS)

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Insight

Can Malaysia’s AI data centres go green?

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A wave of AI server farms is turning Malaysia into Southeast Asia’s digital epicentre, but their high energy use could derail the country’s climate goals, writes Genevieve Mallet, Dialogue Earth.

DATA CENTRES are springing up across Southeast Asia as China and the US vie for Artifical Intelligence (AI) supremacy. Tech giants – from ByteDance and Alibaba to Google and Microsoft – are setting their sights on Johor, Malaysia’s manufacturing hub just across the strait from Singapore. A rich agricultural state, Johor is now also home to sprawling data centre parks.

Since 2023, Malaysia has announced RM99 billion in data centre investments, much of it involving AI facilities, with a further RM149 billion in the near future. With cheap electricity, labour and ample land, Malaysia has proven to be a compelling alternative to its land-constrained neighbour and is set to become the fastest-growing data-centre hotspot in Southeast Asia.

(Feature image: Workers at a data centre under construction in Sedenak Tech Park in Johor |  Image © Vincent Thian / Associated Press / Alamy)

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Insight

Ingrained in Culture, Songbird Competitions Reign

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Ingrained in culture, songbird competitions reign

A platform for community, a pleasurable pastime, and continuity in tradition: songbird competitions in rural Kelantan prevail, even as their impact on wild birds is unclear.

Text and Photos by Mukhriz Hazim

Published: 8 May 2025

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In-Depth

Birds at Losing End of ‘Marathon’ Singing Competitions

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[Feature image: This newly-bought Red-whiskered Bulbul is placed in a paper bag to be taken home by its future owner | Photo by Mukhriz Hazim]

Counting how many times birds sing in 13 seconds is fun for bird owners, but these ‘marathon’ competitions are endangering the Red-whiskered Bulbul.

OUTSIDE a birdcage repair shop in Kota Bharu, Kelantan is an open space with several metal stands. During the day, these metal stands are used to hang bird cages, dozens of them. They belong to different owners, who leave them at this shop while they are at work.

It turns out that this is a ‘songbird daycare’, not just for any bird but the Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus). Popularly known as Merbah Jambul, the birds are beloved pets and need regular sunlight, so their cages must be hung outdoors.

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In-Depth

Calls Grow to Protect Magpie-robins as Trade Soars

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Growing songbird ownership, enabled by weak laws, is pushing Oriental Magpie-robins into cages – with growing concern over wild populations. A co-publication with Dialogue Earth.

THE ORIENTAL Magpie-robin’s melodious song, once a staple of Malaysia’s forests, is being silenced by the weight of a booming songbird trade. Demand is both domestic and from Indonesia, and enabled by gaps in Malaysian laws.

Known in Bahasa Malaysia as Murai kampung, the Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis)  is listed as being of Least Concern in terms of its conservation status.

But thousands have been seized by authorities in Malaysia since 2020, due in part to missing documentation required for exports, and to curb the spread of disease, among other things.

(Feature image: Everyone wants to own a Murai kampung but are there enough wild birds to feed this demand?  | Illustration: Kabini Amin/Dialogue Earth & Macaranga)

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Remarks

Securing Malaysian Skies Against Wildlife Traffickers

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The alarming rise in wildlife smuggled through Kuala Lumpur airports to India calls for more surveillance and joint investigations, writes wildlife trade expert Kanitha Krishnasamy.

IN MARCH, 4 gibbons found nowhere else in the world except Borneo were discovered in the luggage of passengers who flew into Chennai from Kuala Lumpur. For 2 of these Endangered Eastern Grey Gibbons, the rescue came too late – they had died by the time they were found.

This kind of smuggling from both terminals of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to various locations in India has been persistent, frequent, sometimes in large quantities and involving a wide variety of species.

(Feature image: From monkeys to tortoises, smugglers are using Malaysian and Indian airports to smuggle wildlife  | Composite image of posts in TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Facebook)

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In-Depth

Ways to Improve Malaysia’s Ecological Fiscal Transfers

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Rock quarries have been expanding within Bukit Lagong forest reserve, Selangor. (Satellite image from Google Earth/Airbus)

Ways to Improve Malaysia's Ecological Fiscal Transfers

Conservationists broadly agree that the EFT mechanism has been good for Malaysia and that all states could benefit from more money for biodiversity protection. But increasing allocations, making the scheme legally permanent and giving states more freedom on how they can spend EFT funds could make this mechanism more effective.

A co-publication by Macaranga and Eco-Business.

Writer: Samantha Ho

Editor: YH Law

Published: 10 April 2025

Part 1 |  Part 2

(Feature image: The Selangor state government has been approving expansion of quarries (left) in the Bukit Lagong forest reserve. | Satellite image from Google Earth/Airbus)

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In-Depth

Bright spots in the dark: Tracking Malaysia’s fiscal transfers for nature conservation

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Bright spots in the dark: Tracking Malaysia's Fiscal transfers for nature conservation

The federal government said its Ecological Fiscal Transfer funds have spurred state governments to add protected areas and run conservation programmes. Yet as environmentalists are calling for more EFT funding, our analysis finds little transparency on most of the money disbursed, despite some state-level data from Johor and Sabah.

A co-publication by Macaranga and Eco-Business.

Writer: Samantha Ho  |  Editor: YH Law

Published: 8 April 2025

Part 1 | Part 2

(Feature image by Macaranga) 

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A Malaysian Environmental Journalism Site