A recent poll by Pulse Group PLC amongst 1,000 online survey respondents of its www.planet-pulse.com community said that 89% of Malaysian households plan to switch their lights off during Earth Hour Saturday night.

"It seems that a lot of Malaysians are keen on playing a key part in building awareness and saving our environment thanks to the success of this global campaign which is very encouraging," said Bob Chua, CEO of Pulse.

"We're hoping to do our part as well by being more energy and carbon efficient throughout our global facilities moving forward."

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008, the message moved 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of one billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. The initiative will then be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.