[879] Of top Malaysian environmental issues for 2006, part two

It’s already September and it’s time to revisit and update the 2006 top environmental issues. Unlike the first four months of 2006, the second four months have some good news on the Malaysian environmental front (tag).

The first issue I want to add up into my ongoing list definitely concerns Sipadan. Last May, a barge was transporting large amount of construction materials to build something on the island. The barge accidentally rammed through a wall of corals — or rather, accidently killed off lots of reefs — hence damaging what nature takes many years to build. This resulted in public outcry. Just like that smelly water in Klang Valley issue, this whole disaster was spreaded by blogs and thus outdoing and outbest the local mainstream media.

What makes the issue worse was the reason the barge was there in the first place. It was exactly Tioman all over again! Once the public found out that the Sabah government was building a RM 5 million tourist complex on a supposedly protected island, the state government was under attack. Even the Malaysian Prime Minister was forced to get into the argument and later in July, he ordered a stop to the development but the Chief Minister of Sabah continued the project, albeit at a reduced scale — at ‘just’ RM 2 million and they call it sustainable development…

Nevertheless, the project is still large and Sipadan doesn’t need such development. To distract public attention, the state government started to talk about the presence of illegal divers around Sipadan. The state government must think us the citizens as a bunch of stupid.

Witnessing the fate of Sipadan, I wish Indonesia had won the case instead of Malaysia. At least, Indonesia would be too poor to spoil Sipadan with insensible and unneeded development.

From Sipadan, it’s down to Bakun, Sarawak. Bakun is the site of what used to be taunted as the largest dam in the region before the Asian financial crisis hit Malaysia. Around a decade later, it’s still under construction. As plan to really revive the construction of the project started to gain momentum, suggestion to build metal smelters around Bakun popped up early in January this year. Believe it or not, the state government said the presence of a metal smelters would provide justification to have the Bakum dam. Without the smelters, there just isn’t enough demand for electricity to justify the construction of the Bakun dam. Talk about circular reasoning!

The idea has been killed or died off since but like a zombie, it refuses to die and has come back to life earlier this month:

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Malaysia’s Sarawak state is still pursuing plans for an aluminium smelter, a government minister said on Thursday, despite media reports that the proposal was close to being scrapped.

Malaysian newspapers reported in July that the federal government might call off the smelter project, which was to be powered by Sarawak’s 2,400-megawatt Bakun hydro-electric dam.

This is something that needs to be watched.

While the zombie rises, something received a headshot in August. The controversial Broga incinerator project has been cancelled. It has been called off (reg. req.) in mid-August. Here’s to citizens’ power. And to “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) too.

While the cancelation of an incinerator might reduce the amount of polluted air we as Malaysians might inhale into our lungs, the open burning in Indonesia is of greater concern. The burning, like last year, caused massive haze. But the good news is, unlike last year, this year was less hazy though it still affected our daily chores. The reason for a less severe pollution is the amount of rain we enjoy.

But the haze was still bad, that the turtles can’t find their way to Terengganu!

Alright. That was lame but the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) says that the leatherback turtle species has virtually extinct from Peninsular Malaysia. Well, everybody has somewhat already knew that but some Malaysians begged to differ. They say there still one or two of this graceful species that still land on Terengganu beaches every year. Righto, one or two.

But not all things are gloomy here in Malaysia. Somebody in the government are actually doing something to preserve and improve the environment. Yes, I’m talking about the sustainable forestry as proposed by Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities. Instead of continuing ravaging the forest for timber, if things go well, soon we don’t need to depend on the forest for timber. We will have tree farms!

It’s so encouraging to see that an industry-centric ministry is being so progressive in its environmental policy. Talking about progressiveness, the local government of Kuala Lumpur plans to introduce congestion tax. This will be a tough fight because not many will like the idea of paying more tax and especially the fact the mass transit system here in Kuala Lumpur is horrendous. I myself am not too keen of the idea because I’ve started to experience first hand the unreliability of the trains of Kuala Lumpur. It used to be fantastic but something must have had happened between now and then.

The third good news is about rhinoceros. As recently as this week, conservationists are overjoyed to find out that there’s a growing population of Sumatran rhino in the middle of Borneo:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Wildlife rangers have made the first-ever sighting of a Sumatran rhino deep in the jungles of Borneo, taking video and photos of a single male after a decade-long search, conservationists said Friday.

SOS Rhino, a Chicago-based wildlife foundation, hailed the recent sighting in Malaysia’s Sabah state as a “major discovery” that suggested a growing population of the Sumatran rhino was present in the wild.

Sumatran rhinos have been classified as an endangered species. Before last year, it was thought the species has already extinct from the world’s third largest island.

Well, roughly four more months to go before 2007 hits us all. That’s four more months to makes this year better than 2005.

Finally, I’d like to dedicate this post to Steve Irwin, for all the good work he had done. I know it’s late but he was a great conservationist. There really aren’t too many persons like him that inspire others to appreciate nature and life. So, to prevent this blog from forgeting him, I’m craving his name on my blog.