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The Sun
5 hours ago
- Climate
- The Sun
Enhancing resilience to climate change
CLIMATE change is a reality that is affecting communities around the globe, including Malaysia. Rising temperatures, erratic weather patterns and environmental degradation are becoming increasingly severe. While global and national efforts largely focus on reducing carbon emissions, Malaysia's adaptation strategies remain fragmented and insufficient. Malaysia has made commitments through international agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, yet gaps in governance and policy coordination continue to hinder progress. As opposed to mitigation, which seeks to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases, policies geared towards adaptation focus on strengthening resilience to climate impacts such as rising sea levels, extreme floods and food insecurity. However, Malaysia lacks a comprehensive adaptation plan, leading to uncoordinated efforts at various levels of government. Recent events underscore the pressing need for robust adaptation policies. Between November 2024 and January 2025, Malaysia experienced severe flooding that displaced over 148,000 individuals across multiple states, including Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor and Sarawak. These floods resulted in significant infrastructure damage and economic losses, with the federal government allocating RM25 million for immediate repairs. In addition to flooding, landslides in Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands in January further highlighted the country's vulnerability to climate-induced disasters. Malaysia is also experiencing more frequent and prolonged heat waves. This poses severe health risks like heat stroke and stress, increasing energy demand for cooling as well as disrupting labour productivity. Adaptation measures are crucial to safeguarding communities from worsening climate effects. Climate-resilient infrastructure, nature-based solutions and early warning systems are all components of national climate adaptation strategies adopted in countries like Australia, Germany and the Netherlands. Malaysia, however, is still in the early stages of developing a structured adaptation framework. Malaysia's response to climate impacts has often been reactive, fragmented and insufficient. Our focus remains heavily on disaster response, such as flood relief and evacuation, rather than proactive risk reduction and long-term resilience building. Another concern is governance fragmentation. Climate adaptation requires cross-sectoral integration. While climate change falls under the purview of multiple ministries, including the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry and Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry, there is no single overarching framework to guide implementation. State and local governments, which play crucial roles in adaptation, often lack the necessary funding, expertise and clear mandates. Without proper coordination, efforts to build climate-resilient infrastructure, protect coastal areas and support vulnerable communities remain disjointed. Another challenge is the absence of an effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. Studies show that more than 60% of countries that have adopted national adaptation plans do not track their implementation effectively. Among Asean nations, Indonesia has developed an M&E framework while Thailand is in the advanced stages of formulating one. Malaysia has yet to establish a similar system. Beyond government agencies, non-state actors such as NGOs, local communities and the private sector can also play a vital role in climate adaptation. Organisations like Sahabat Alam Malaysia and WWF Malaysia have been advocating for stronger policies and community-based solutions. Local communities, especially in coastal and rural areas, are often the first to experience climate impacts. Their knowledge and participation are crucial for developing practical adaptation measures. However, the involvement of non-state actors is often overlooked in policy formulation. A top-down governance approach, where policies are crafted at the federal level with limited input from local stakeholders, remains a significant barrier. Effective adaptation requires a multilevel governance model, where decision-making processes integrate insights from top-down national policies and bottom-up local experiences. Implementing climate adaptation policies requires substantial investment. Building seawalls, upgrading drainage systems and developing drought-resistant crops demand significant financial resources. While Malaysia has committed to increasing green financing initiatives, climate adaptation remains underfunded compared to mitigation efforts such as renewable energy projects. The cost of inaction is exponentially more expensive than proactive investment. This can lead to higher economic losses in the future. Countries that delay adaptation often face increased damage costs from climate-related disasters. There are also social costs involved through loss of livelihoods, displacement, and strain on the health and social services. Malaysia must prioritise long-term adaptation strategies to avoid escalating costs associated with climate inaction. To enhance Malaysia's resilience to climate change, the government must establish a comprehensive, evidence-based, inclusive and actionable adaptation plan. This plan should outline clear adaptation targets, specify the roles of different agencies and ensure adequate funding and resources for implementation. It must also be integrated with different sectors such as water security, food security and public health as well as biodiversity. Malaysia has the resources, the technical capacity and the ingenuity to build resilience. What it needs now is the collective will and urgent action to translate plans into concrete and transformative actions on the ground. Climate change adaptation is not just about protecting the environment; it is about safeguarding Malaysia's future generations. Mohamad Nazrain Nordin is a senior training consultant at the National Institute of Public Administration. Comments: letters@
The Star
14 hours ago
- The Star
Afghans loiter at KLIA for four days
PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) thwarted an attempt by four Afghan nationals, believed to be from a family, to enter Malaysia using fake visas. The agency said the four were among 132 foreigners who were checked during a monitoring and document screening operation at KLIA Terminal 1. It said the four individuals – a man and three women – were spotted wandering in the terminal area, which aroused the suspicion of the KLIA Terminal 1 monitoring unit personnel. 'The four were found to have arrived in Malaysia on July 24 at 9.20pm, but failed to report to the immigration counter within the specified time. 'It is learnt that they had been in the terminal area for four days without going through the immigration inspection process,' said the agency in a statement. AKPS said further checks on their travel documents revealed that the visas were fake. 'The fake visas were obtained through an agent for a fee of US$6,000 (RM25,350),' read the statement, Bernama reported. The agency refused entry (Not To Land) to the four individuals, who will be deported to their country of origin today.
New Straits Times
a day ago
- New Straits Times
Afghan family with fake visas detained after spending 4 days wandering inside KLIA
SEPANG: A family of four Afghan nationals who spent four days wandering inside the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) terminal was denied entry into Malaysia after authorities discovered they were attempting to enter the country using fake visas. The group — consisting of one man and three adult women — arrived at KLIA on July 24 at 9.20pm via Emirates flight EK342 but failed to report to the immigration checkpoint upon arrival. In a statement, the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA) said the family's prolonged and suspicious presence at the terminal caught the attention of officers from the KLIA Terminal 1 Monitoring Unit. "The four were among 132 foreign nationals screened during a document inspection and monitoring operation at the airport," it said. Investigations revealed the individuals were "stranded passengers", a term used to describe travellers who enter the country but do not report to immigration within the stipulated time. During interrogation, the group admitted they had been living inside the terminal for four days without undergoing immigration clearance. "Further checks on their travel documents revealed that all four visas were forged. The family later confessed they had never been to Uzbekistan, which was listed as their supposed transit country. They told authorities the counterfeit visas had been obtained from an agent for USD6,000 (RM25,386)," the agency said. MBCA confirmed that all four individuals have been issued Not To Land (NTL) notices and are scheduled to be deported to Afghanistan on Wednesday via Emirates Airlines. "This incident underscores our ongoing commitment to preventing the entry of foreign nationals using forged documents," it added. The agency also reminded the public and travellers that strict action will be taken against any attempts to bypass Malaysia's immigration laws through fraudulent means.
The Star
a day ago
- Business
- The Star
Boxing, backflipping robots rule at China's biggest AI summit
From lumbering six-foot machines to nimble back-flipping dogs, robots lorded over China's most important annual AI conference in Shanghai this week. Thousands turned up to gawk at the antics of a bewildering array of droids at work: dispensing popcorn and drinks (messily), peeling eggs, sparring in a boxing ring, playing mahjong or just wandering around the cavernous exhibition hall. The more popular robots were the creations of Unitree, UBTech Robotics Corp and Agibot, who've built up some name-recognition among the hundreds of startups and big tech firms vying to produce the world's most advanced humanoid androids. The scores of machines on display were the most visible symbol yet of China's surprisingly rapid ascent in a key arena of artificial intelligence. Hangzhou-based Unitree teased an entry-level US$6,000 (RM25,437) droid and ByteDance Ltd posted a video of its Mini hanging up a shirt just days before the World Artificial Intelligence Conference kicked off over the weekend. "The technology is developing so fast,' Deep Robotics' Americas director Eric Wang told Bloomberg Television. But "so far, in the US market, we don't see very cost-effective and reliable competitors. And we don't see that happening in two to three years.' Chinese upstarts are pushing the boundaries of what's possible within a technological sphere that inspires fear and awe in equal measure. From EngineAI to Leju, little-known names drive a field in which American companies like Boston Dynamics have so far failed to stake out a clear lead despite years of effort. In 2025 alone, humanoids ran a half-marathon, competed in a kick-boxing tournament and played football. Even if those events weren't exactly technology triumphs – most of the participants stumbled, fumbled or failed to complete the race – each underscored the country's ambitions. A robot prepares coffee in a stand during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) at the Shanghai World Expo and Convention Center in Shanghai on July 28, 2025. — AFP Widespread integration into daily life remains a distant prospect, perhaps as much as a decade away by some estimates. "It looks lively and bustling, but it's all for show on the stage,' Alex Zhou, a Qiming Venture partner, said of the conference when he asked two startup founders about use cases during a Monday panel. Yet the advances unfolding in China and elsewhere are reshaping the industry landscape, with humanoid robots poised to play an expanding role across factory floors, hospitals and households. Citigroup Inc predicts a US$7 trillion (RM29.68 trillion) humanoid robot market by 2050, which China is racing to dominate. Hundreds of robotics startups have taken root following President Xi Jinping's endorsement of the sector and a plethora of incentives. Domestically made semiconductors and open-source AI models are hastening the pace. But not every startup is expected to survive in a cash-hungry sector where, additionally, the humans building robots remain in short supply. "We've talked to more founders this year – the sheer amount of competition we have – is more than what we have in the past two years combined,' said Tim Wang, co-founder of startup investor Monolith Management, which backs DeepSeek. "A lot of these companies are not going to exist five years down the road. But I think the entire concept of a healthy frenzy is very good for the industry to develop.' Beyond the high-tech display, China's robotics industry is grappling with its own contradictions. The country faces an urgency to integrate robots into work and daily lives. A demographic decline and shortage of factory workers is threatening its manufacturing dominance. Robots, specifically human-looking ones, may be one answer. "Even with huge challenges, more breakthroughs are expected in the coming couple of years or even months ahead,' Wu Bi, a technical lead at Deep Touch, said in front of a statue of the Greek goddess Aphrodite that was speaking perfect Chinese. – Bloomberg
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Afghan family caught using fake visas to enter Malaysia
PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) thwarted an attempt by four Afghan nationals, believed to be from a family, to enter Malaysia using fake visas. According to AKPS, the four individuals were among 132 foreigners who were checked during a monitoring and document screening operation at KLIA Terminal 1. It said the four individuals, a man and three adult women, were spotted wandering in the terminal area, which aroused the suspicion of members of the KLIA Terminal 1 Monitoring Unit. 'Based on initial investigations, the four individuals arrived in Malaysia on July 24 at 9.20 pm via Emirates Airlines flight EK342, but failed to report to the immigration counter within the specified time. 'It is learnt that they had been in the terminal area for four days without going through the immigration inspection process,' said the agency in a statement here today. AKPS said further checks on their travel documents revealed that the visas were fake. 'Following further investigation, all of them admitted that they had never set foot in Uzbekistan, supposedly as a transit, the fake visas were obtained through an agent for a fee of US$6,000 (RM25,386.00),' read the statement. As such, AKPS took action to refuse entry (NTL - Not To Land) to all four individuals and they will be deported to their country of origin on July 30 via Emirates Airlines flight. - Bernama
