A guarded optimism for sustainability, before and after Malaysia’s GE15

Q3 Social Sciences Round Table Pub Date : 2023-05-04 DOI:10.1080/00358533.2023.2219538
Yi-Jian Ho
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Abstract

While some might see Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15) as a critical juncture for political developments or research agendas in Malaysia, my outlook for sustainability and conservation in Malaysia is guarded against the possibilities of not meeting urgent climate change goals, even though there may be better prospects under the new government. GE15 was contested on the primacy of race, religion and regional autonomy, then on issues of corruption and bread-and-butter issues, rendering environment conservation and sustainable development a relatively fringe issue. This is a double-edged sword – progress will come from policy elites, moving at their respective individual paces. This shields them from the vagaries of politics and moral panics, but at the same time, it does not lend a sense of urgency. Coming out of the 14th General Election in 2018, activists were hopeful that the new federal Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan, PH) government would be able to move the behemoth of Malaysia’s government bureaucracy towards better conservation and sustainability policy. The then Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Yeo Bee Yin had the right moves in planning for energy sector reform towards decarbonisation, increasing public transport usage, eliminating single-use plastics, and also beginning work on a Climate Change Act and an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act. The bipartisan All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on the Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG) also was formed in late 2019. My personal experience with the Prime Minister’s Department saw greater openness towards access to information reform (Target SDG 16.10). However, with the emergent COVID-19 crisis and the ‘Sheraton Move’ in February 2020 which led to a 17-month-long new government headed by the National Alliance (Perikatan Nasional, PN), these plans were at the very least deprioritised, if not scrapped. Tellingly, the new government no longer had a ministry which featured climate change as a named portfolio. Having said that, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continue to feature in subsequent government rhetoric and/or official efforts. Malaysia managed to submit its second SDG Voluntary National Review in 2021. The 12th Malaysia Plan, launched under the next government under the National Front (Barisan Nasional, BN), has several
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在马来西亚第15届全国大选前后,对可持续发展持谨慎乐观态度
虽然有些人可能将马来西亚第15届全国大选(GE15)视为马来西亚政治发展或研究议程的关键时刻,但我对马来西亚可持续发展和自然保护的展望是防范无法实现紧迫的气候变化目标的可能性,尽管在新政府的领导下可能会有更好的前景。第15届全国大选辩论的焦点是种族、宗教和区域自治的首要地位,然后是腐败问题和面包和黄油问题,使环境保护和可持续发展成为相对边缘的问题。这是一把双刃剑——进步将来自政策精英,他们将以各自的步伐前进。这使他们免受变幻莫测的政治和道德恐慌的影响,但与此同时,这也没有给他们带来紧迫感。2018年第14届大选结束后,活动人士希望新的联邦希望联盟(Pakatan Harapan, PH)政府能够将马来西亚庞大的政府官僚机构转向更好的保护和可持续发展政策。时任能源、科技、环境和气候变化部部长杨美盈(Yeo Bee Yin)在规划能源部门的改革、增加公共交通的使用、消除一次性塑料,以及开始制定《气候变化法》和《能源效率和节能法》方面采取了正确的举措。马来西亚可持续发展目标两党议会小组(APPGM-SDG)也于2019年底成立。我在总理部的个人经历表明,信息获取改革更加开放(可持续发展目标16.10)。然而,随着新冠肺炎危机的爆发和2020年2月的“喜来登行动”,这些计划即使没有被取消,至少也被剥夺了优先级。“喜来登行动”导致了全国联盟(Perikatan Nasional, PN)领导的长达17个月的新政府。很明显,新政府中不再有一个以气候变化为特色的部门。话虽如此,可持续发展目标(sdg)仍在随后的政府言论和/或官方努力中占据重要地位。马来西亚于2021年提交了第二次可持续发展目标自愿国家审查。由国民阵线(Barisan Nasional, BN)领导的下一届政府发起的第12个马来西亚计划有几个
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来源期刊
Round Table
Round Table Social Sciences-Geography, Planning and Development
CiteScore
1.70
自引率
0.00%
发文量
77
期刊介绍: Founded in 1910, The Round Table, Britain"s oldest international affairs journal, provides analysis and commentary on all aspects of international affairs. The journal is the major source for coverage of policy issues concerning the contemporary Commonwealth and its role in international affairs, with occasional articles on themes of historical interest. The Round Table has for many years been a repository of informed scholarship, opinion, and judgement regarding both international relations in general, and the Commonwealth in particular, with authorship and readership drawn from the worlds of government, business, finance and academe.
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