Malaysia

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand: Sumatra Forest Fires Cast Pall over Neighbors

Date: August 1st, 2006 |

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Haze from forest fires in Sumatra drifted into Malaysia and Thailand in an annual rite of pollution caused by illegal burning. The fires are typically started by slash-and-burn farmers clearing forests for fields or logging companies clearing land to get at timber. Indonesia’s Riau province has the majority of the fires and the worst pollution, [read more]

Malaysia: No Passionate Kissing in Public

Date: April 11th, 2006 |

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Kissing in public is OK for foreign tourists, but not for locals, according to a recent ruling by the Federal Court, the country’s highest. An ethnic Chinese couple will go on trial for holding hands and kissing in a park in Kuala Lumpur, a “crime” the college students committed in 2003. Islamic law prohibits unmarried [read more]

Malaysia: U.S. Embassy Temporarily Closed

Date: January 3rd, 2006 |

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The U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur closed indefinitely Dec. 30 citing a security threat against the Embassy. The official announcement said the Embassy had �no information of specific, credible threats against private American interests in Malaysia.� Until the facility reopens, any U.S. citizen with an urgent problem can call the Embassy at 2168-5000 and ask [read more]

Malaysia: Fake Cops Prey on Tourists in Kuala Lumpur

Date: August 30th, 2005 |

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A group of Middle Eastern men posing as police have been robbing tourists in Kuala Lumpur. They move in groups of two or three and carry fake �authority cards� identifying them as police, which they use to intimidate their victims after accusing them of an offense and threatening to arrest them. In most cases the [read more]

Malaysia: Travel Warnings for Sabah

Date: June 28th, 2005 |

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Both the U.S. State Department and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs released warnings about travel to coastal areas of Sabah on the island of Borneo, citing credible reports that terrorists are planning kidnappings at resorts frequented by foreigners on Sabah�s east coast and offshore islands. Several such incidents have occurred here in the last [read more]

Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia: Piracy in Malacca Straits

Date: July 11th, 2006 |

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Piracy has been a problem for decades in the Malacca Straits, a busy shipping channel between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, and three incidents occurred recently despite a concerted effort by these three countries to reduce the practice. Two UN-chartered ships on their way to Indonesia’s Aceh province in Sumatra were attacked and lost cash and [read more]

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur Shops Pay Kickbacks

Date: March 7th, 2006 |

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Proving that the obvious can sometimes go undetected, the Malaysian Tourism Ministry has come to the conclusion that some shops overcharge tourists and pay kickbacks to tour companies for bringing tourists to their shops. This is about the oldest practice in tourism but in Kuala Lumpur there may be a crackdown on it because the [read more]

Malaysia: Increase in Dengue Fever

Date: October 4th, 2005 |

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Cases of dengue fever are more than 25 percent higher this year than last year and officials are concerned that the disease could reach epidemic proportions. Seventy-one people have died out of more than 27,000 cases. Some 750 cases were reported in the week ending Sept. 24, with officials considering the threshold for an epidemic [read more]

Malaysia: Polluted Air

Date: August 9th, 2005 |

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Some 600 fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and both the Indonesian and Malaysian portions of Borneo created a smoky haze over Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas, prompting health officials to warn against strenuous outdoor activities. The haze comes and goes as the weather changes. These conditions are not new; they occur almost annually [read more]

Malaysia

Date: May 17th, 2005 |

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Almost 16 million tourists visited Malaysia last year, a record for the country, and authorities in Kuala Lumpur are striving to make sure that the country maintains its reputation as a safe place. They are putting more plainclothes police on the street and installing closed-circuit TV cameras in undisclosed locations, hoping to prevent crime in [read more]