Malaysia Info Guide
for Locals & Visitors

Coal has been expelled from Eden.

On Wednesday the government of Sabah, the ecologically rich state on the northeast tip of Malaysian Borneo, announced it had killed a plan to build a controversial 300-megawatt coal-fired plant in the tourism-driven eco-paradise. The plant had been proposed to help meet the state's energy shortages, which regularly inflict brownouts on Sabah's 3 million residents. Instead, Sabah will tap its relatively abundant store of natural gas.

That's not the cutting-edge renewable-energy portfolio environmentalists consider ideal, but it's certainly cleaner than coal. And because the state's vast clean-energy potential is still largely undeveloped, it's the most immediate practical solution to the growing local power needs. Officials anticipate a 7.7% annual increase in demand through 2020. (See pictures of cities unleashing their creative and technological energy.)

LANGKAWI: The Federal government plans to redevelop Langkawi's tourism potential to revive the glory days of the resort island off Kedah.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said measures would be taken under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015) to enable Langkawi regain a prominent place on the tourism map.

The government would come up with a list of projects in a few months' time as part of the redevelopment plan, he said.

"Langkawi has a lot of potential but it is not fully utilised. There is much we can do, particularly with the attractive natural surroundings," he said to reporters after opening a seminar on the development of Langkawi, here Sunday.

Nor Mohamed said Langkawi should rightly be a niche product for the tourism sector.

"If Thailand can boast of Phuket, Koh Samui and Krabi, and Indonesia, of Bali, then surely Malaysia can be proud of its own islands, of which Langkawi is the most popular," he said.

He said the government had spent a lot in previous five-year plans to develop Langkawi's economy and had undertaken a major transformation of the island.

LANGKAWI, Jan 29 -- Cleanliness and protecting the environment are crucial for Malaysia in order to become a major tourist destination in the world, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

She said many tourists had described Malaysia as a good tourist destination but were not very happy about cleanliness at tourist spots especially toilets.

"Malaysia is nice but "the nose will guide me to the toilets" they say. Therefore, I urge all Malaysians to write directly to the relevant parties especially the operators if they find tourist spots or toilets to be not in good condition in terms of cleanliness," she said at the Langkawi Tourism Industry Awards 2010/2011 ceremony here Friday night.

She said the ministry introduced the "1Malaysia Green, 1Malaysia Clean" initiative to educate and increase tour operators' and public awareness on the importance of upkeeping cleanliness and pristine state of tourist spots.

KUALA LUMPUR -- More than 1.3 million devotees and visitors are expected to throng the Batu Caves for Thaipusam celebrations on Jan 20.

The increase in the number of devotees and visitors as compared to last year's one million visitors could be attributed to the convenience of new commuter services serving the Port Klang-Batu Caves route, said Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam chairman Datuk R. Nadarajah.

"The services which started on July 29, last year would certainly lighten the journey for those wishing to travel by public transport," he told Bernama Thursday.

He said the celebrations would begin from Jan 16, with some 120,000 people expected to be at the Batu Caves to commemorate the birth of Lord Murugan.

Nadarajah said that this year, more than 2,000 devotees were expected to carry 'pal kudams' (milk pots) while about 1,000 would carry large kavadis. There will be more than 400 stalls selling food, drinks, souvenirs and clothing.

Nadarajah said a press conference would be held on Jan 14 to announce highlights of the celebrations.

The Thaipusam festival commemorates the birthday of Lord Murugan, the younger son of Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Lord Murugan a 'vel' (spear) so that he could vanquish the evil demon, Soorapadman.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has declared Friday, Dec 31 as a public holiday to celebrate the success by the Malaysian football squad in winning the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, Wednesday night.

Najib also congratulated the Malaysian squad for beating the Indonesian team in the final on a 4-2 aggregate, describing it as "the greatest night in Malaysian football".

"The young team had done us proud and we must build this success to propel Malaysian football to greater heights," he said in a statement to Bernama.

In prison robes and handcuffs, the British wife of a Malay faces the gallows for narcotics

Dressed in orange prison robes and handcuffed to a fellow suspect, this is the daughter of a British nuclear scientist facing the death penalty in Malaysia for drugs trafficking.

Shivaun Orton, 41, and her husband were arrested after police found £16,000 of cannabis, amphetamine, ecstasy and heroin during a raid on their home.

If found guilty, she could become the first British woman to be hanged since Ruth Ellis in 1955. But yesterday she insisted she was innocent. She said that while her Malaysian husband Abdul Harris Badileh was a womanising drug user, she had been kept as a virtual prisoner at their home 12 miles from a beach resort they own.

Miss Orton’s late father Mike worked at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment in Aldermaston, Berkshire, for 36 years. She grew up in the Welsh coastal town of Harlech but has lived in Malaysia since 1995.

Yesterday she wept as she told how she had arrived at her present predicament.

Having passed her A-levels, Miss Orton left for the U.S., where she did an arts degree at Miami University. It was there that she met her husband-to-be. Despite her mother Shirley’s disapproval of the relationship, they married and 15 years ago moved to Malaysia, although she always kept her British passport and surname.

She said she left America with about £20,000, with which she helped her husband set up the Ranting Resort, a group of chalets in Cherating. They have two sons, Jacob, 16, and Isaac, 14