The Star's Meng bags prestigious environs award

The Star's Meng Yew Choong (right) receiving the winner's certificate from Dr Roland Busch, Siemens AG's board member as well as CEO for its infrastructure and cities sector, in London on Wednesday.

LONDON: The Star’s assistant editor Meng Yew Choong has been named the Asean-Pacific winner of this year’s Siemens Green Techno­logy Journalism Award.

His piece “All Powered By Fossil Fuels” revealed how dependent Malaysia is on fossil fuels, right from electricity generation to transportation.

The story also explored the dilemma faced by authorities in untangling the fossil fuel knot.

The article, which appeared in Star2, was picked from over 170 submissions from the region that included developed countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

“Meng’s article lucidly brings together the complex dilemmas that Malaysia’s energy sector faces,” said one of the judges, Sanjeev Sanyal, founder of the Sustainable Planet Institute.

“What I particularly liked about Meng’s piece is that he does not present a simplistic solution. Much of the environmental journalism falls for the temptation of magic technological solutions whereas it is often about making complex trade-offs.”

Another judge, Steffen Lehmann, Chair Professor of Sustainable Design, University of South Australia, added: “Meng’s article presents a timely debate for Malaysia and the wider Asia-Pacific region, as a shift away from fossil fuels is required, with electricity demand growing at about 3% annually.

“The article combines contextual information and adequate research with good news value.”