Malaysia 2021 – Reset and Rise!

Many may remember the anticipation and hope we had when we welcomed the year 2020. After all, for the people of our generation, the year 2020 was “the” future during our school days - we did colouring, drew pictures and wrote essays about the year 2020 with all kinds of wild imagination. Then 2020 came. None of us expected Malaysia 2020 to be defined by the triple whammy of political, health and economic crisis. 

 

Sheraton Move in February 2020 and the political maneuvering thereafter have brought Malaysian politics to its lowest point. The current government got into power by backdoor operation and betrayal and stays in power by trading support with power and position. 

 

Even with a bloated cabinet, Malaysia doesn’t seem to be able to overcome the lives and livelihood challenges brought about by Covid-19. As of 30 December 2020, the total number of Covid-19 infection has risen to 110,485 cases with 22,562 active ones. Our hospital beds may not hold enough for long. 

 

In term of livelihood, the number of unemployed persons went up to 748,200 persons in October 2020, more than 50% higher than the national average of 494,000 for the period of 2016 to 2019.  This does not even include those who are temporarily jobless at 183,600 (they were not counted as unemployed by the government as they would return to work eventually) as well as those who are suffering income reduction. 

 

Most forecasts show that 2021 is going to be another if not more challenging year. Politicians from both of sides of the political divide must arrive at an amicable solution to the current impasse to provide political stability that will bring us out from Covid-19 health and economic crisis. The Prime Minister and the leaders of Perikatan Nasional should stop being obsessed with snap polls. The country does not need another General Election as we struggle to contain the spread of Covid-19 and manage its economic impact. We must remember that people come before power. 

 

For us in the opposition bench, it is our sincere desire for a reset in our direction next year. Firstly, let us draw a clear boundary of who we can or cannot work with, based firmly on clear principles and conviction. Secondly, the 108 Members of Parliament (MP) in the opposition must unite. Despite our differences, let us remember that we were (and still are!) the 108 MPs who did not jump or defect, knowing full well that the position of ministership, deputy ministership or GLC chairmanship awaits us if we did. Let us be once again reminded of our shared goals of clean governance, harmony, integrity, justice and competency. 

 

Indeed, 2020 has not lived up to our childhood imagination. In fact, Malaysian Politics 2020 is a display of the ugliest form of politics that no one would be proud to show to the next generation. However, this has not and will not crush us. As we welcome the year 2021, we still believe and are determined to pursue good politics; politics that focus on building Malaysia with the following seven characteristics: 

 

i.               A united country, of which citizens of all colours are free to practice their own cultures and religion, but still recognize themselves as Malaysians with a sense of common and shared goals;  

ii.              A prosperous society with educated and excellent workforce in a competitive, dynamic and resilient economy powered by creativity, innovation and technological advancement;

iii.             A just society, of which the fruit of economic development is shared fairly among different social classes and promotes upward mobility;

iv.             A democratic country with mature democracy, freedom to speak and assemble, free and fair elections as well as high civic-mindedness among people;

v.               A country that strives towards equity in opportunities for all in quality education and personal enhancement;

vi.             A low-carbon society that protects and preserves the forest, wildlife, and environment; and most importantly

vii.           A moral, ethical and caring society with strong family and community values, protecting our most vulnerable ones. 

 

When the light shines in the darkness, the darkness cannot overcome it. Let’s still believe in the power of doing the right thing together. 

 

In year 2021, let’s reset and rise! 

 

Syed Saddiq (MP for Muar, Former Minister of Youth and Sports)

Mohd Azis Jamman (MP for Sepanggar, Former Deputy Home Minister)

Hannah Yeoh (MP for Segambut, Former Deputy Minister of Women, Family & Community Development)

Yeo Bee Yin (MP for Bakri, Former Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change)

Baru Bian (MP for Selangau, Former Minister of Works)

Maszlee Malik (MP for Simpang Renggam, Former Minister of Education)

Sivarasa Rasiah (MP for Sungai Buloh, Former Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development)

Salahuddin Ayub (MP for Pulai, Former Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry)

Amiruddin Hamzah (MP for Kubang Pasu, Former Deputy Minister of Finance)

Teo Nie Ching (MP for Kulai, Former Deputy Minister of Education) 

Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (MP for Kota Belud, Former Deputy Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change)

Creating Green Growth and Jobs as a Part of Post-Covid Economic Recovery

The country is waiting eagerly the announcement of Budget 2021 on the Government’s plan to bring us through Covid-19 crisis, to protect the social and economic wellbeing of the people. Undeniably, the outlook is challenging. Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) has just reported nearly 90,000 job losses so far this year and if the trend continues, the number will hit 100,000 by the end of the year. In addition to that, we already have 127,000 graduates still without jobs for more than 6 months and the number will keep rising as there are 300,000 new graduates every year. The country is in the search of new jobs and the government can play a big part to make it happen. 

 Income, jobs and growth used to be at the opposite ends of the scale with environmental protection. But it is no longer so as more countries around the world recognise the potential of green industry in the post-Covid world. According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretariat, at least 30 OECD and Key Partner countries have included green measures in their post-Covid economic recovery strategy, and rightly so. This article focuses on green measures that can be considered in Malaysia. In order to create green jobs, the government needs to facilitate more green projects on the ground, reducing bureaucracy and catalyse them by attractive financial incentives in terms of tax incentive, low-interest loans as well as grants. 

Renewable Energy 

I believe the lowest hanging fruit among all in terms of increasing the number of green projects and new jobs on the ground is renewable energy projects. The government should maintain or increase Pakatan Harapan’s renewable energy (RE) target of 20% in electricity mix by 2025 excluding large hydroelectric sources above 100 MW (33% if include large hydro.) Pursuing this target has the potential of generating RM 33 billion private investment and additional 50,000 RE jobs. 

How MESTECC Address Climate Change Action Without Burdening the Government on Additional Fund

YAB Prime Minister had recently launched the establishment of the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Centre (MGCC) at the International Green Technology and Eco-Products Exhibition and Conference (IGEM) on October 10, 2019. MGCC is the result of the repurposing of Malaysia Green Technology Corporate (MGTC) which aims to prepare Malaysia moving towards a climate change resilience future and to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Instead of setting up a new agency that will require additional fund from the government, MESTECC has successfully optimized the ministry's internal agency by absorbing the functions of this climate change centre into its existing agency (MGTC).

The move of repurposing existing agency is consistent with Pakatan Harapan’s commitment to keep the civil service lean and to reduce expenditure by optimising delivery.

Was there really no allocation for climate change action in the Budget 2020?

The Malaysia Green Technology and Climate Change Malaysia will be funded through a RM10 million allocation from the saving of MESTECC ministry’s spending in 2019.

In conclusion, it is not no allocation for climate change, but the government is optimising the spending and using the savings to finance the climate change centre. This is the difference between the Pakatan Harapan and the Barisan Nasional.

Meanwhile, the government will also establish National Council of Climate Change Action as promised in the Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto.

In addition to the RM10 million allocation, MESTECC is also actively building capacity to leverage international funds such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and to drive partnerships with private companies in Malaysia and international organizations.

In addition, YB Yeo had witnessed the exchange of a letter of cooperation between Malaysia Green Technology Corporate (now known as MGCC) and the United Kingdom on May 16, 2019.

This is a four-year collaboration programme under the United Kingdom Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UKPACT) Cooperation which aims to strengthen, promote and develop climate change and low carbon transition collaboration between two countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

This collaboration programme will benefit Malaysia on addressing critical climate change initiatives including the scoping study on a climate change legal and institutional framework, as well as capacity building through sharing of skills. It will also allow Malaysia to study and adapt the UK 2050 Pathway Carbon Calculator to the Malaysian context.

Pang Sock Tao
Special Officer to YB Yeo Bee Yin
Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC)

Yeo Bee Yin witnessed the exchange of letter of cooperation between MGCC and the government representatives from UK in Putrajaya on May 16, 2019.

Additional 15,000 units of LED Street Lights for Rural Areas

Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) has increased the allocation of LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights for rural areas. This is in addition to the initiative of 10,000 LED street lights allocated by MESTECC in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development (KPLB).

On August 19, 2019, YB Yeo Bee Yin together with Minister of Rural Development Datuk Seri Rina Harun officiated the launch of the “Program Pemasangan Lampu Jalan Kampung" in Bangi, Selangor. MESTECC has allocated over 10,000 units of energy-saving LED lights for villages in need starting from 2019 until 2020 through the Incentive-Based Regulatory (IBR) initiative.

More than 10,000 units of LED street lights will be installed in the villages in Peninsular Malaysia under “Program Pemasangan Lampu Jalan Kampung” by Ministry of Rural Development through utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

For Sabah and Sarawak, it will be funded under KPLB’s budget allocation and the Ministry will announce the installation accordingly.

The program received encouranging response resulting in increased application of LED street light. In collaboration with KPLB, MESTECC has allocated additional 15,000 LED lights to illuminate the streets in the villages. This initiative proves that Pakatan Harapan has always put Rakyat’s well-being at the forefront.

The scope of the project is to supply and install sets of lamps in poles, in public areas or in front of public buildings such as community hall, prayer houses and at street intersections.

Benefits of Installing LED Street Lights

In addition to its lighting features, LED street lights are an environmentally friendly option as they are more stable, durable, less heat-resistant and does not contains mercury. LED lights save energy and are brighter at a lower voltage.

With these LED lamps, the damage rate of street lamps can be reduced from 15-20 percent to 2 to 5 percent. Therefore, the failure of road lights can be controlled to a minimum and the maintenance cost can be reduced.

The installation of LED street lights is also one of a Government’s initiative to promote energy efficiency that can contribute to energy savings and cost savings of at least 30 to 40 percent.

Pang Sock Tao
Special Officer to YB Yeo Bee Yin
Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC)

Yeo Bee Yin and Minister of Rural Development YB Datuk Seri Rina Harun officiated the installation of LED street lights at Kampung Rincing Hilir in Semenyih on August 19, 2019

Reimagining Malaysia Part 15: Water Governance

Water is precious. However, just like air, people generally don’t spare it a thought until there is a shortage. This is probably the most boring topic of the book because it involves a lot of technical details but I want to dedicate this chapter to writing about the challenges of supplying water to Selangor and Kuala Lumpur as well as the ongoing water industry reform. This, I feel, will help the next generation to not take their water supply for granted. The same perspectives can also be applied to water management in other states.

Background

Because of historical reasons, the water supply in Selangor is combined with that of Kuala Lumpur. (I’ll use Selangor water from now on for simplicity purposes but it should be understood that it stands for the water supply for Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.) Managing the Selangor water industry is far more challenging than it is in other states because it serves seven million users. That makes us the biggest water supplier in Malaysia with a water demand size almost triple that of the second largest water usage state (Johor) [1]. In fact, it is one of the biggest in the world.

In addition, there is rapid industrialisation along many rivers in Selangor, which leads to river pollution as well as the drying up of rivers. This poses a serious threat to the resilience of raw water supply to Selangor. At the time of writing, the water industry is still in the process of consolidation after being wrongly privatised for many years, resulting in a fragmented water industry.

The figure below shows the fragmented Selangor water industry before consolidation. All the private water companies, with the exception of SPLASH, have been taken over by the Selangor State Government and placed under Air Selangor since the end of 2015.

Reimagining Malaysia Part 14: Climate Change Madness

Have you heard about the term climate change madness?

It was popularized by the head of the Philippines delegation, Yeb Sano, who made international headlines with his emotional speech at the opening session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November 2013[1]. At the time of his speech, Super Typhoon Haiyan had just hit the Philippines and caused catastrophic damage to the country. His speech brought tears to the eyes of many of the delegates and was met with a standing ovation.

However, emotions without actions mean little. At the end of 2016, 195 countries, including the US* and China, which are the two biggest carbon emitters, came together and signed the Paris Agreement. This was the first time in history that countries around the world had collectively agreed to undertake efforts to cut carbon emission to keep the global temperature increase below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels [2].

While carbon emission reduction can slow the pace of global temperature increase, the earth will almost certainly become warmer[3]. Carbon emission reduction can only reduce the extent of temperature increase.

If carbon emissions were to reduce significantly, the rise in the global average surface temperature could be limited to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. This is what the Paris Agreement is trying to achieve.

In short, whatever we do now, global warming is bound to happen and it is going to negatively impact our lives, depending on the extent of the temperature increase.

Generally, there are two aspects to tackling climate change – adaptation and mitigation. Adaptation consists of taking steps to reduce the impact of climate change while mitigation is related to taking steps to reduce carbon emission, and hence the extent of global warming. 

I shall discuss these two aspects in the Malaysian context.

Reimagining Malaysia 13: Energy

Energy comes in the form of electricity and fuel. Energy security and affordability are important factors for a country’s survival and prosperity. Figure below shows the energy supply by type from 1978 to 2015 in Malaysia. We can see here that natural gas and crude oil combined make up a major part of our energy supply. Hence it is impossible to discuss energy in Malaysia without mentioning the oil and gas industry.

Energy Supply by Types 1978 – 2015

Source: Malaysia Energy Commission

Reimagining Malaysia Part 12: Rape

Occasionally, we see social media users expressing outrage over high profile rape cases, such as the Kelantan gang rape, which saw 38 men gang-raping a 15 year-old girl [1], or the heartless father in Chow Kit who repeatedly hit and raped his underage daughter who had just arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Sarawak in search of a better life only to have it turn into an unimaginable nightmare[2]. Despite such cases, only a few people recognise the severity of the rape culture problem in Malaysia.

On average, there are 3,000 rape cases reported yearly in Malaysia. What is even more astounding is that only two out of every 10 cases are reported. Even worse, two out of three rape victims are minors (under 16 years old)[3]. How do these numbers translate into real life?

Including the non-reported cases, it is estimated that there are as many as 15,000 rape cases in Malaysia every year. Hence, a rape takes place every 35 minutes – by the time you finish reading 2 articles of this series, one female would have been raped in some corner of Malaysia. And 80 percent of rape victims, many of whom are girls, suffer in silence.