SM Mohamed Idris

The continuous emergence of wildlife news in the media warrants serious attention from the government and the relevant authorities. Malaysian wildlife faces a desperate fight for survival into the future and without urgent intervention, many of our country’s endangered species will soon be wiped out.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is appalled by the Malaysian cabinet’s decision to regulate e-cigarettes and vaping instead of imposing a total ban on them. The Consumers Association of Penang reiterates that the cabinet must impose a total ban on e-cigarette and vaping if they are concerned about the future and well-being of the youth in this country.

We wish to respond to the article ‘Securing our food supply with GM crops’ by Dr Hoe-Han Goh published in the New Straits Times on Nov 14, 2015. Dr Goh extolled the benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops in several countries, but his article failed to provide the full picture and we seek to address this important gap.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) finds the response from the rural and development minister on the serving of turtle eggs at a function in a restaurant in Sabah baffling.

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) would like to address the issue of Telekom Malaysia (TM) being unfair to its customers by deciding to charge RM5 for every printed TM bill starting January 2016.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) text was finally released on Nov 5, 2015. This comes almost five years after Malaysia joined the negotiations, during which the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) had consistently urged disclosure of the text. It is unconscionable that the government has negotiated an agreement that will greatly impact the lives of all Malaysians in secret, for so long.

Seeds are a farmer’s most essential input. For thousands of years farm communities have been observing, selecting, nurturing, breeding and saving seeds. et, in the last century there has been a dramatic decrease in global seed diversity, of which the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported in 2010 that 75 percent of the world’s crop diversity had already been lost.

In 2002, the Sarawak Penan Association (SPA) released the Long Sayan Declaration 2002, which was signed by more than 40 Penan community leaders.

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) are concerned that the Department of Environment’s (DOE) requirement that the project proponent of three road packages in Penang Island only needs to submit a Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would mean that the public will not have an opportunity to review the EIA report and provide their feedback.

The lion with overgrown claws at the Johor Zoo is now recuperating but that does not mean that Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) will put the matter to rest.

Such shock and disappointment we feel that another building under construction has had one of its floors collapse. Just like the incident in Alor Gajah two months ago, the temporary structure holding up the floors (that had not yet set) was not strong enough. It was reported that weak recycled items were used as the temporary structure. Why did the contractor decide this was the best way to go?

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) expresses great concern over the lack of transparency exercised by Perhilitan with regard to the ivory stockpile in their custody.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) urges the state government and the Department of Environment (DOE) to investigate and take prompt action to address the pollution problem in Sungai Tiram near Bayan Lepas following the death of thousands of fish which were found floating on the surface of the river yesterday.

Restrictions or outright bans on the production of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) exist in many countries worldwide. Yet Malaysia has approved eight genetically modified (GM) maize/corn products and six GM soybean products for food, feed and processing purposes.

Urban farming is fast picking up all over the world, be it done individually or in a community setting. The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) urges the government of Malaysia to support communities and individuals to move towards the path of urban farming.

The country’s household debt is high at 88 percent of the Gross National Product and with an average debt repayment ratio of around 44 percent (that means that 44 percent of the income goes to settling debts). Furthermore, as many as 55 people on average are being declared bankrupt every day.

The news about the mezzanine floor of a hypermarket under construction collapsing yesterday at Pulau Sebang, Alor Gajah, Malacca, is shocking to say the least. Reports state that the mezzanine floor collapsed after the staging was removed. Fifteen foreign workers, turned victims, were said to have been inside the building at the time - three are dead, six injured and another six are still missing.

The practice of buying pawn tickets has been going on for years if not decades. According to the enforcement agency, the Moneylenders’ and pawnbrokers’ division of the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry, it is illegal for anyone to purchase the pawn tickets.

We refer to the statement by Deputy Health Minister Dr Hilmy Yahya that the ‘Government is in no rush to table Pharmacy Bill’ ( The Star May 25, 2015).

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) urges the Malaysian government to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations as the US Senate had last night voted against considering fast-track authority at this time.

The income of nearly 200 fishermen in Sungai Batu, near Pantai Remis, Manjung district in Perak has been affected following offshore tin mining activities by a company in their fishing area.

The public has been made aware that the ‘highly anticipated’ Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project has been approved and construction is expected to commence in 2016.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is surprised not only by the fact that our government has given in to pressure so easily and allowed the service charge to remain, but also at the reason given as to why the charge is necessary.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is shocked and disappointed by the Malacca River pollution which has caused the death of thousands of fish due to poisoning in the river recently.