Malaysia

Indonesia: Illegal Burning Spreads Haze over Region

Date: October 3rd, 2006 |

Dry season burning of brush on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo has caused smoke and haze to spread over both islands and nearby Singapore, reducing visibility, damaging air quality and delaying flights in Palangkaraya, Kalimantan on the Indonesian side of Borneo. The haze was affecting some 215,000 square miles of land. Air quality had [read more]

Malaysia: Crime Gang Dismantled in Borneo

Date: September 12th, 2006 |

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A small-time crime syndicate in Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo was broken up, but its modus operandi is worth remembering. They meet foreign tourists “by chance,” befriend them, show them around for the day, then invite them to their home. Once there, they encourage the tourists to play a game Black Jack, even [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: Taxi Coupon Plan Extended

Date: September 19th, 2006 |

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Authorities in Kuala Lumpur are extending a taxi coupon system to more tourist spots in an effort to prevent taxi drivers from cheating their passengers. Currently the system is available at Kuala Lumpur’s Sentral train station, Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Sunway Lagoon and Kuala Lumpur Tower. It will be extended to the Kuala Lumpur City [read more]

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]

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