In pursuing the goals of sustainable development and transiting from fossil fuel-dependent electricity generation to renewable and sustainable alternatives as endorsed by COP28, Malaysia set a 31 % target for renewable-energy in the power generation mix by 2025. This underlines Malaysia's commitment to combat climate change, mainly by reducing its economy-wide GDP carbon intensity by 45 % from the 2005 levels by 2030. To better understand the effects of renewable energy expansion on the economy, environment, electricity output and input-mix, a computable general equilibrium model is applied using an updated benchmark. The simulation results show that increasing the share of coal and gas in the power generation mix compromises emission reduction targets. Further, there is a trade-off between subsidized natural gas supplies and power generation and exports. The results also show that a larger proportion of renewable energy leads to improved welfare. As the share of gas and coal in renewable energy generation is not very high, its impact on carbon emissions is limited. However, if renewable energy expansion is complemented by subsidy rationalizations, the positive impacts are more pronounced. In terms of policy implications, the findings suggest that Malaysia must step up its emission reduction efforts by augmenting the generation of renewable rather than non-renewable resources. Complementary initiatives such as emission abatement policies and consumption subsidies for refined oil products and fossil-fuel power generation should be rationalized to expand renewable resources, improve energy security, and attain emission reductions.
Traditionally, there are some medicinal plants believed to treat diabetes, as they have been proven in research studies to possess antidiabetic properties, such as improved insulin sensitivity and hypoglycemic activities, due to their high level of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and glycosides. We conducted a systematic review to identify potential medicinal plants used during human clinical trials in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries on prediabetic or type 2 diabetic individuals and to potentially identify any bioactive compounds involved in effectively treating symptoms of diabetes such as lowering of blood glucose. A total of 1209 reference titles were retrieved from four selected databases (Science Direct, Scopus, Springer Link, and PubMed) and only three met the inclusion criteria. Upon evaluation of the selected articles, four medicinal plants were identified: turmeric (Curcuma longa), garlic (Allium sativum L.), bitter melon (Momordica charantia), and Rosella flower (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.). Of these, only the bitter melon study did not show any significant change in the blood glucose of participants after intervention. This review demonstrates the limitations in published articles of human clinical trials for medicinal plants' intervention for diabetes. Upon further investigations on the four identified medicinal plants included in the animal studies, the findings showed positive effects in the management of diabetes, such as hyperglycemia. Hence, further testing and standardization of the methods in the studies can be suggested for human clinical trials for reliable data collections such as methods of extract preparation, duration of intervention, and conditions set for the study design.
Five children in Pos Lenjang, Pahang, Malaysia were PCR-positive for vivax malaria and were admitted to the hospital from 5 to 26 July 2019. One of the patients experienced three episodes of recurrence of vivax malaria. Microsatellite analysis showed that reinfection is unlikely. Drug resistance analysis indicated that Riamet (artemether-lumefantrine) is effective. Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) testing showed that this patient has defective CYP2D6 function. Primaquine failure to clear the Plasmodium vivax hypnozoites may be the cause of recurring infections in this patient. This report highlights the need for the development of liver-stage curative antimalarials that do not require metabolism by the CYP2D6 enzyme.