News stories by Baradan Kuppusamy

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (IPS) - A distance of nearly 9,000 kilometres separates Malaysia from Africa, but that hasn't stopped the Southeast Asian nation from becoming a key staging post in the illegal trade of ivory from Africa to China.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 22 (IPS) - With a propensity to devour everything in their path and spiral quickly out of control, leaving behind swathes of scorched earth, forest fires are considered a hazard in most parts of the world. In Indonesia, however, fires are the preferred method for clearing large areas of land for massive plantations of commercial crops.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jun 06 (IPS) - They had voted for "ubah" or change. What the youth of Malaysia got instead seems to be more of the same.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (IPS) - It has been over a fortnight since Malaysia held its 13th general election that saw the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition returning to power and continuing its 56-year rule. However, instead of joyous celebration, there are widespread protests on the street.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 14 (IPS) - Age-old customs and traditions that allow licenced traders to collect and sell marine turtle eggs to locals and tourists alike are driving the creatures to extinction, Malaysian conservationists charge.

Kunasekaran Krishnan (43) is a member of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) who hopes his newly released CD of 10 'revolutionary songs' will help convince voters to back the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance) in the general election that is widely expected to be held this year.

Despite a wave of reforms washing over the country, the Malaysian government- controlled media remains muzzled, mostly because ruling elites fear a free press will erode their iron grip on society.

Foreign workers, mostly from Indonesia, now make up just over 10 percent of Malaysia’s workforce of 14 million people, both in the formal and informal sectors, according to the latest government statistics.

Malaysia’s new internal security law is as draconian as the colonial law it has replaced, but has the saving grace that it will not target political opponents of the government, say critics.

As Prime Minister Najib Razak prepares to dissolve parliament for snap polls, Malaysia’s socialists are seeing an opportunity to make a comeback after nearly five decades in the political wilderness.