SCIENCE MEDIA CENTRE (SMC) Malaysia announces the launch of PANAS, Malaysia’s first project highlighting local climate change stories from Malaysian journalists, writers and content creators. In collaboration with British High Commission Kuala Lumpur and EcoKnights, SMC announces nine climate change stories in four languages, English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. In the face of climate change, journalists and content creators increasingly play a major role to help accelerate climate action through advocacy and education.
For most vulnerable countries, including Malaysia, the 1.5ºC warming limit reported in The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is crucial as it requires major and immediate transformation. The role of the media in highlighting the impacts of 1.5ºC global warming on natural and human systems will support stakeholders and policymakers to address climate change. This is done by providing local statistics, engaging stories and reliable evidence to affect change at a higher level. However, the potential of journalists still remains largely untapped.
“While the nature of Malaysian media coverage tends to be reactive, however, when empowered, it has the potential to take on a more proactive role to inform, inspire and encourage all stakeholders to take action toward reducing the impacts of climate change,” said Tan Su Lin, co-founder of SMC.
The journalists, writers and content creators in PANAS! are Nicole Fong, Ashley Yeong, Poorani Kannan, Nimal Raj, Sunesha Munisamy, Dr Nur Hazwani Bahar, Rekha Sevaloga Nathan, Elanggo Munian and Lim Ann Gee.
Nicole Fong (English)
Tittle: Malaysian indigenous women: The hardest hit by the climate crisis
This story seeks to understand how increased deforestation from logging and extreme weather patterns affects Sarawakian indigenous women through a social, cultural, and economic lens.
Ashley Yeong (English)
Tittle: Why are corals turning white in Malaysia?
This story highlights the vulnerabilities and the effects of the climate crisis on coral reefs in Malaysia.
Poorani Kannan (English)
Tittle: Are Malaysian fresh graduates ready to be part of the world’s climate change resolutions?
The higher education system in Malaysia offers various environment-related degree courses. The real question is, however, how ready are these graduates able to contribute as part of the real-world climate change resolutions?
Nimal Raj (English)
Tittle: Prithvi (Earth) (video)
Prithvi uses the analogy of Bharatanatyam dance to reflect our current climate crisis, reminding us of the need to love and care for the environment.
Sunesha Munisamy (BM)
Tittle: Does climate change affect human mental health?
What is the link between climate change and mental health? This article explores how unpredictable weather driven by climate change affects our mental and emotional health.
Dr Nur Hazwani Bahar (BM)
Tittle: Traditional rice is the key to climate change adaptation
This story highlights the challenges faced by the rice farming communities with a focus on traditional and indigenous communities in Sabah and Sarawak.
Rekha Sevaloga Nathan (Tamil)
Tittle: How a warming earth affects Malaysia (video)
This video investigates public opinion, perception and understanding on climate change in Malaysia. It explains the steps that the Malaysian government has taken in tackling climate change.
Elanggo Munian (Tamil)
Tittle: Climate change: Impacts on outdoor workers and how to deal with them
This story explores the negative health and mental impacts of climate change on the B40 community who work outdoors.
Lim Ann Gee (Mandarin)
Tittle: The things you don’t know about mosquito
This story explores the relationship between mosquitoes, vector diseases and climate change in Malaysia through interviews with public health experts and a dengue survivor.
*These stories are available upon media requests
Next month, SMC will be launching a digital tool kit targeted at the local media industry, journalists, writers and content creators on writing content addressing the issue of climate change. It includes a glossary, a list of important resources such as local and international climate action initiatives, and potential experts/spokespersons for easy reference.
