Malaysia 1st Green Internet TV

This is another great initiative by the Government. 

1hijau.tv went live on 1st October 2010. It primarily broadcasts the GREEN AGENDA in the Malaysian context via the broadband connection. 

Too early to give a comprehensive review on this site but SDMALAYSIA strongly believes this will be one IMPORTANT channel that will promote local content in the next decade.

We wish you all the success. And the only way to do this is to get more viewers switch from watching their regular reality shows to learn something educational for their own sake. 

Come and support each other......

Helping skilled returnees assimilate

One of the key contributor of SDMALAYSIA, Dr Nurul Muiz Murad was featured in a newspaper article. Please read on to hear what he's got to say about the whole brain drain issue plaguing Malaysia.  

Source: The Star Online

Monday November 1, 2010



VARIOUS issues cited as reasons why top brains and talents from Malaysia choose to work abroad include a transparent bureaucratic system, non-discriminatory policies, meritocracy, opportunities for professional development, intellectually stimulating working environment and affordable quality education for children.


Dr Meera Shah, 30, chief resident at Chicago’s Cook County Hospital in the United States, feels that attracting talents back to Malaysia takes a lot more than just offering better salary and work opportunities.

Sabahan Augustine Wong, a landscape architect based in North Carolina, the United States, with his American wife Judith Marie Rohrs, a homemaker. He lauds the Government’s move to bring back talented Malaysians from abroad.

“There is one aspect of being globally competitive that involves business opportunities and wages but it goes beyond that for a lot of people, particularly if you’re trying to attract an intellectual class,” she said via e-mail.


Dr Meera, whose husband is a British-born Indian, appreciates the training and working environment she is currently in.

“In terms of academic medicine, the US has a meritocratic system which has been in place for several decades and is very structured. Training is standardised, there’s quality control, and training institutions are in competition to attract the best people. Emphasis and money are put on research, mentors are plentiful, and new ideas are always brought forward. It is this kind of environment that stimulates real thinking.”

 Nevertheless, she has contemplated returning to Malaysia to work.

 “But I hear true accounts of blatant discrimination regarding opportunities for further training and academic positions. That put me off,” said Dr Meera, who also questions the calibre of some government scholars who are chosen to study medicine abroad.


“Professionally, if I know I would be on an equal platform with everyone else, it would be much more attractive for me to return. Our education system is also in tatters. I would not want my child to be learning history from books which have been rewritten to suit its authors,” said the mother of one.


Landscape architect Augustine Wong, based in North Carolina, the United States, said the Talent Corporation is a good idea.

Before he returned to Malaysia, Dr Nurul Muiz Murad talked to people to get a clearer picture of what to expect. For him, the assimilation process was smooth.


“It is about time the Government looked at bringing back talented Malaysians abroad,” said Wong, 49, via e-mail.


Wong has his own consultancy that provides landscape architecture, urban design and civil engineering services.


He was recently appointed by the US Transportation Research Board in Washington DC to serve on the Landscape and Environmen­tal Design Committee.


A father of four, Wong is keen to contribute his expertise to Malaysia. One of his aims is to create an international committee of sustainability experts involving other Malaysian professionals to protect Malaysia’s and the region’s sensitive environment.


“I think most Malaysians would like to work in both countries – Malaysia and the adopted country. This way, it helps both countries in many areas.”


However, he would like to see a level playing field for all regardless of race and religion, equal funding sources for entrepreneurs, and incentives and opportunities for innovators and inventors.


“To make this happen, the Government should conduct a work session with Malaysians abroad. This will provide a framework for the Government on how the plan should be formulated, developed and implemented. Without input from Malaysians abroad, it will be a one-sided government view which might not be accepted by returning Malaysians.



“Keep in mind that Malaysian professionals abroad are used to working in diverse environments with a different political climate, social interaction and quality of life. As a result, there is a need to ‘assimilate’ them into the Malay­sian environment, otherwise there would be conflicting goals, vision or passion,” said Wong, whose American wife, Judith Marie Rohrs, is a homemaker.


If Wong were to return to Malay­sia, he intends to set up his own consultancy firm, so a comparable salary will not be an issue for him.


“I think every Malaysian should be given the opportunity to be what they want to be so they can be good, contributing and responsible citizens (to their country), regardless of race or religion.”

A Malaysian who has returned home is engineer Dr Nurul Muiz Murad, who came back from Australia in June last year. Before he returned, he worked as an environmentally sustainable design consultant with a private company in Melbourne, Victoria.

 He is currently the principal and technical director of his own consultancy which specialises in green technology.






“Any move by the Government to woo back talents to Malaysia should be applauded. From my point of view, the main problem in Malaysia at the moment is the lack of local expertise to implement government policies through action plans,” said Muiz, 34.


Before returning to Malaysia, he spent two years doing his own research and talking to people to get a clear picture of what to expect.


“That put things in perspective and eased me through the assimilation to Malaysian life. I am lucky that things have been quite easy for me to adapt to ever since I came back.


“I believe that Malaysia is a gold mine. There are a lot of opportunities provided you know what you want and where to look. Like every other country, Malaysia is unique in how things are being run over here, so there is no point in being too idealistic.


“Be street-smart and think outside the box – that’s the key to being successful in Malaysia for those who wish to return home from abroad,” he said.


He feels that Malaysia needs more local talents overseas to return and set up businesses to drive the economy further.



“Those who have come back and set up their own businesses need to employ local Malaysian talent so that the knowledge and expertise is passed down and retained,” said Muiz.



There are three things that he hopes the Government will do for Malaysians who return. The first is to set up more special funds either through grants or soft loans exclusively for Malaysians returning from abroad so that it will be easier for them to start up their own businesses.


“At the moment, start-up loans available are through small-medium enterprise banks in the form of soft loans. I think more is needed.”

He said the Government should also set up briefing sessions for Malaysians returning from abroad so that they know exactly who to approach and where to look for information.

“Set up a special directory or database for returning Malaysians and make it available online so that anyone who requires a specific skill can look up the database,” he said. – By Wong Li Za

SDMalaysia clocked 1000 visitors

YES, last week we reached the big 1,000 mark on our blog hits counter since we launched SDMALAYSIA.BLOGSPOT.COM early this year. 

Though it is just a small milestone to all of us here at SDMALAYSIA, we view this as a significant step for us to continue our journey to spread the knowledge and news related to Sustainable Development in Malaysia.

We have a clear mission by playing the role as CHANGE AGENTS to other Malaysians so that they can ffully embrace "sustainability principles" in their daily lives.

We also hope that one day, through this blog, readers will then spread the messages for others to appreciate the importance for us to change some of our actions that are giving negative impact to the environment & society. We at SDMALAYSIA believe that it is not impossible to clock 1,000 visitors per day in the near future.

Lastly, we would like to wish all our readers a HAPPY NEW YEAR. May 2011 bring us closer to the ideal sustainable journey for all of us, Rakyat Malaysia :)
  

Turn to Renewable Energy or start paying higher electricity bill!

Feed in Tariff (FIT) essentially means that once you install any type of renewable energy (RE) source to power up your home you are also able to sell back to the national grid and make money out of it (hmmm sounds too good to be true...so what is the catch for consumer like you and me?). Because generating electricity from RE will be relatively costly due to the current low economies of scale, the cost will be passed back to all of us, especially to the Non RE users.   

There are more serious questions that the public should be aware of before deciding to embark on this renewable energy journey. Would we be able to get the answers from the authority on the following matter:

1- On average, how much CO2 reduction per household will be achieved from converting to RE sources?

2- How much will an average household gain from selling the electricity they have in excess?

3- What will be the payback period for the investment to install the RE source?

4- Will there be push back from the Independent Power Producer (IPP) who stand to lose from the FIT implementation?


5-  How much and by when will we see another hike in the electricity bill?


Last but not least, SD predicts for question #5, Malaysia will probably see the next electricity increase to happen around second half of 2011 with possible increase from 5 to 8 % jump from current rate. 

Source: http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20101020160207/Article/

Renewable Energy Act in effect by H1 2011

The bill on the Renewable Energy Act is expected to be tabled in Parliament before year-end, with the Act coming into force by June next year.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry's Undersecretary of the Sustainable Energy Division, Badriyah Abdul Malek, said the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) mechanism is therefore expected to be implemented at the same time.

FiT is a mechanism that allows electricity produced from indigenous renewable energy resources to be sold to power utilities at a fixed premium price and for specific duration.

"The bill is now completed and submitted to the Attorney-General. So we expect the bill to be tabled for first reading between the October and December session," she told reporters after the Investment Opportunities in Renewable Energy Seminar and Dialogue with Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok in Kota Kinabalu today.

"At the same time, we will also table the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Bill, which is to institute the establishment of SEDA Malaysia, the authority to spearhead renewable energy development in Malaysia," Badriyah said.

"We expect the second and third reading in March, and the Act enforced probably in May or June next year, so the FiT will also come on board in May or June 2011," she said.

In response to a question, Badriyah said that for Sabah, it had been estimated that more than 100 megawatts of electricity could be obtained from variable sources such as biomass, biogas and also solar energy.

Concerning the dialogue, Dompok said majority of the 70 participants present from the palm oil industry were waiting for implementation of the Act to see the tariff revised, as the present tariff of 21 sen per unit was considered low.

"That's the general view. The government, of course, will be prepared to look at the increase. But in this area, I am not going to say much more than that because the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry will make the necessary announcement," he said.

Dompok said the outcome of today's dialogue also recognised that the oil palm industry could not replace the electricity production from Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd but it was important to look into renewable energy opportunities to meet the challenges of electricity supply in the state. -- Bernama

Nobel Prize Laureate in town !

SDMalaysia recently attended a luncheon talk in KL organised by Yayasan Khazanah and MINDA. The distinguished speaker is Prof Mohd Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank. For his effort to eradicate poverty in his country, he received the Noble Prize Award in 2006. 

The topic of the day was "Social Business and Poverty Reduction". The gentleman delivered an inspiring talk and he did it eloquently without any prepared text on the podium!


So here are the salient points SDMALAYSIA benefited from the session.


1. We will never be able to solve the world greatest problems such as poverty and climate change because all of us are guilty repeating things we are so used to do in the name of capitalism.


2. The idea of capitalism has gone sour because we have always been thought to do things for OUR OWN PROFIT. 


3. Our actions indirectly have affected those who are less fortunate to be worse off in their ability to acquire the basic necessities in life. 


4. Subsequently, economic disparity in society will lead to unfavourable condition such as poverty.


5. According to the World Bank while global poverty rate has substantially reduced, the risk of number of ppl falling into poverty has increased !  


5. Social Business is a concept to conduct business without considering self profit. The ultimate goal is to provide solutions for others who are less fortunate. You can get more info on this at wikipedia.


6. Prof Yunos argues that the principle behind Social Business will give greater impact than the triple bottom line approach.


7. It is our chance to consider this approach in a concerted effort to ensure that we will truly embark on a sustainable business. 

Bursa Malaysia’s initiative to raise the profile of sustainability practices in Malaysia.

We are coming to end of 2010 and SDMalaysia is delighted to hear about the recently reported news on corporate sustainability. 





It is a well known fact that stocks listed in Dow Jones index significantly outperform those who of the "traditional" stocks. The plan for Bursa Malaysia to introduce similar sustainability index in this country is encouraging. So ppl, start investing in those sustainable stocks when the index is introduced.      

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/11/24/nation/7490733&sec=nation

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is working towards establishing an environmental, social and governance (ESG) index to influence public-listed companies to adopt sustainability practices in their business operations.

The proposed ESG index is also expected to attract socially responsible investment (SRI) funds into the country.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said socially responsible investments looked at ESG factors, alongside traditional financial indicators, in identifying good investment opportunities.

“These factors increasingly guide investment decisions in developed markets and include issues such as climate change and community involvement as well as core business principles such as risk management and good governance,” he said in his keynote address at the launch of Bursa Malaysia’s business sustainability guide and portal here yesterday.

Najib said studies had shown that there was a positive correlation between companies’ sustainability practices and their share price performance.

He said many indices had emerged, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4Good, as well as the Fortune Most Admired Companies list.

Najib commended Bursa Malaysia’s initiative to raise the profile of sustainability practices in Malaysia.

“I hope that all Malaysian companies will make sustainability practices an integral part of their business functions.”

He said sustainability considerations must also be reflected in the Government’s broader policymaking agenda.

Be socially responsible: Najib (centre) at the launch of Bursa Malaysia’s business sustainability guide and portal in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. — Bernama

He cited the Government’s effort to establish the Talent Corporation to identify, recruit and retrain an expert workforce soon and its pledge to reduce Malaysia’s carbon dioxide emissions to 40% by 2020 as examples.

Camco Forms Joint Venture With Khazanah Nasional Expanding its Operations in South East Asia

This news is probably the most significant milestone for Malaysia to demonstrate to the world that we are serious in tackling the climate change issue. Well done Khazanah and Camco !

Source: PR Newswire

LONDON, September 28, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Camco International Limited ("Camco", AIM:CAO), a global developer of emission reductions and clean energy projects, today announces the formation of a joint venture agreement with Khazanah Nasional ('Khazanah'), the investment holding arm of the Government of Malaysia.
As a partnership between Khazanah, a leading regional investor with investments in over 50 major companies mainly in South East Asia, and Camco, a leading global company with a 20 year track record in project delivery and commercial excellence, the joint venture is strongly positioned to become the leading player in the emissions to energy market in the region.
The joint venture will be capitalised with up to US$46.05 million to invest in the emissions to energy market in South East Asia, as well as carbon development and advisory services.
On inception, the joint venture will be capitalised at $30 million, made up of $14.7 million from Khazanah as equity, $10.15 million as a convertible bond and $5.15 million from Camco as equity investment. In addition Khazanah has committed to contribute, on an earn-out basis, a maximum additional consideration of $16.05 million (up to 2013) into the joint venture subject to the performance of transferred existing carbon contracts and future carbon contracts to be undertaken by the joint venture. Camco will also hold a warrant to subscribe for additional equity in the joint venture of $3.7 million. On inception, Camco will have a 60.1% share holding in the joint venture and on a fully diluted basis (following the exercise/conversion of all outstanding warrants and convertible bonds) a 51% interest.
Camco will contribute its nominal existing carbon projects in South East Asia (not including itsChina portfolio) and pipeline, its emission reduction project development and investment business pipeline for South East Asia, an employee platform for South East Asia, access to its global operations including advisory professional services, commercial carbon sales and qualification of carbon projects through specific service agreements, use of the Camco brand in South East Asia, and carbon development costs capitalised at $0.8 million and an investment of $5.15 million.
As part of the transaction, Khazanah will invest GBP1.86 million into Camco through the subscription of 9,280,913 ordinary shares at a price of 20p per share. Application has been made for the 9,280,913 ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. The admission is expected on 30 September 2010. Scott McGregor, Chief Executive Officer of Camco, commented:
"Khazanah is the optimal long term investor for Camco in the SEA region. The joint venture will leverage Khazanah's unrivalled local expertise, which will open a whole new vista for our operations in the region. We look forward to creating a market-leading business together, with the people, know-how and funding to deliver."
Khazanah's Managing Director, Tan Sri Dato' Azman Hj Mokhtar, said:
"We are very pleased to have formed a JV partnership with Camco to establish a SEA emission reduction company, which will be at the forefront of shaping the emission reduction / carbon abatement sector in the entire SEA region and most importantly in Malaysia. Furthermore, this entity will also serve as Khazanah's vehicle to grow the sustainable development sector as part ofMalaysia's New Economic Model."
Notes to editors:
About Camco
Camco International Limited (Camco, AIM:CAO) is a global developer of emission reductions and clean energy projects with operations in the US, the UK, China, Africa, Russia and SEA.
Camco has a 20 year track record in project development, technical delivery and policy development, working with local industry, multinational companies, governments and regulatory bodies.
Camco's Clean Energy Project Development and Investment teams collaborate with industry, project developers, equipment providers and investor groups to create emissions-to-energy projects and maximise sustainable energy production across a range of industries; including agricultural methane, industrial energy efficiency, coal mine methane, municipal solid waste, biomass and landfill gas.
The Carbon Project Development business has created one of the largest emission reductions portfolios and has structured groundbreaking and innovative arrangements for the sale and delivery of emission reductions to compliance and voluntary buyers.
The Energy and Carbon Advisory teams provide strategic, commercial and technical expertise accrued over two decades to deliver low carbon energy and sustainable development solutions.
http://www.camcoglobal.com
About Khazanah Nasional Berhad
Khazanah is the investment holding arm of the Government of Malaysia entrusted to hold and manage the commercial assets of the Government and to undertake strategic investments. Khazanah is involved in various sectors such as power, telecommunications, banking, automotive manufacture, airport management, infrastructure, property development, broadcasting, semiconductor, steel production, electronics, investment holding, technology and venture capital. Some of the key listed companies in Khazanah's investment portfolio include Telekom Malaysia Berhad, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, CIMB Group, Proton Holdings Berhad, PLUS Expressway Berhad, Malaysia Airlines System Berhad, Malaysia Airport Berhad, UEM Land Holdings Berhad, Axiata and Time dotCom Berhad.
http://www.khazanah.com.my

Malaysia 37th ranking in the world..good but can be better

Dear Malaysians, 

Go rush to your nearest newsstand for a latest copy of Newsweek magazine. 

If you are too lazy or a cheapskate, below is a summary from BERNAMA on some good news about our beloved country. The details can also be found here: 

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/15/interactive-infographic-of-the-worlds-best-countries.html

The categories to rank the countries are very much elements defining sustainable development. 

Although being placed 37 out of 100 countries on the list can be considered fairly ok, I am not all that surprised especially when we look at the countries below us. We still need to emulate from the best to perform better particularly in two important areas namely political environment and healthcare. For example, look at how South Korea's position that outranked some european superpowers. That to me is a big surprise !

I hope Newsweek will publish this table again next year and in the mean time let us all focus our SD effort to make Malaysia's position in the top 15.

Source: BERNAMA 

August 23, 2010 17:16 PM

Malaysia Ranks 37th On Newsweek's Best Country List

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is ranked as 37th in the world on Newsweek magazine's "The World's Best Countries" list, which ranks top globe nations by economy, politics, education, health and quality of life.

Among neighbours, Singapore is ranked at 20th, Thailand (58th), Philippines (63rd) and Indonesia (73rd).

In the rating, which involves 100 countries, Finland is ranked as number one, followed by Switzerland and Sweden.

In Newsweek's first-ever Best Countries special issue, they set out to answer a question that is at once simple and incredibly complex - if you were born today, which country would provide you the very best opportunity to live a healthy, safe, reasonably prosperous, and upwardly mobile life?

For this special survey, Newsweek chose five categories of national well-being -- education, health, quality of life, economic competitiveness, and political environment -- and compiled metrics within these categories across 100 nations.

The magazine also listed Malaysia as the eighth best in education category among the upper middle-income countries.

Top three of the category are Kazakhstan, Poland and Cuba.

-

People Power: Capturing The Body's Energy For Work On and Off Earth

Can we harvest the unused energy that a human body essentially wastes (mainly it eventually radiates away as heat)?
The human body is on average of 15% fats, capable of producing 11,000 watt hours
When the average Joe eats his daily bread, he takes 3,300 watt hours. The charge rate is about 7kW. Broken into usable terms, waiting to be harvested are :

Activities energy (watts)
walking with heels 67w
sleeping 81w
soldier standing at ease 128w
walking person 163w
briskly walking person 407w
from a long distance runner 1048w
sprinter 1630w

Some of the most promising mechanisms for passively converting human body functions into electricity are:

1. Piezoelectric devices: Piezoelectric substances, like some ceramics, also generate electrical energy from mechanical strain but without the need for voltage to be applied. This well-understood material is the core of "heel strike" devices that generate electricity from walking. "Generating 1-2 watts per shoe is not out of the question. A major issue that remains is the durability of these devices," Dr. Robert J. Nowak, program manager for energy harvesting at Darpa, wrote to SPACE.com. Great for soldiers, bad for astronauts: "giant steps are what you take, walking on the moon."

2. Urine-based fuel cell: Yes, you can turn pee into power and not just by turning a turbine after a few beers. First subject urea to enzymatic hydrolysis to make carbon dioxide and ammonia, and then oxidize the ammonia to nitrogen and water. But the center notes that "one problem with the system is the need for alkaline conditions that may require transport of sodium hydroxide, a hazardous compound. Also, to achieve power generation in the range of 0.5 - 1W, a system to concentrate the breakdown products of urea, such as reverse osmosis, will be necessary." But for astronauts and soldiers on the run, "one attractive feature of this fuel cell concept is the production of water as a by-product of the system."

3. Thermoelectric materials: These materials convert body heat into electricity by using combinations of materials (metals or today, new ceramics) that are poor thermal conductors and good electrical conductors. When two of them at different temperatures come into contact, electrons migrate, charging a battery or creating usable current through something called the Seebeck Effect. The trouble is that you need great temperature differences to get significant energy, and "on Earth most places are pretty close to body temperature," notes Dr. Henry Brandhurst, director of the center. And what about in the cold depths of space? For the inner solar system at least, photovoltaic panels seem like a better bet, he says

4. Electromagnetic generator: Large muscular groups (especially legs) can generate electricity by simple motions against gravity and small direct current permanent magnet motors. But the center cautions, "there is little or no efforts within the scientific community to design efficient small generators of the type needed for harvesting of human energy."

Source : from space.com

Ridha Razak

What has Ramadhan got to do with Sustainable Development?

Muslims all around the world will celebrate the holy month of Ramadhan by fasting all throughout the day for about 30 days. There are many benefits of fasting besides the natural detox process from abstaining the usual eating and drinking routine. Here is a good site to explain some of the benefits. http://islam.about.com/od/ramadan/a/ram_benefits.htm

So what has Ramadhan got to do with Sustainable Development? I try to break it down from the 3 Ps dimensions i.e. People, Planet and Profit/Prosperity. 

In Malaysia, Ramadhan is the month that citizens of all religions and faiths truly celebrate by strengthening the community spirit. This can be typically observed at eating outlets during the breaking of fast. I even know some of my non muslim friends who will fast together with their fellow muslims to truly enjoy the delicacies when the dusk breaks. The less unfortunate groups such as the orphans and senior citizens are often invited by corporate organisations and wealthy individuals at such functions. The example given demonstrates that the annual Ramadhan month will provide the opportunity for the People from all walks of life to be closer together in a joyous occasion.

Also in Ramadhan, we hope to take care of the Planet by effectively reducing the waste from not consuming any food and water during the day. Indirectly, we will be able to consume less energy that is used in cooking and boiling water.

The last "P" that I want to explain is the Profit / Prosperity dimension. We will see many people take the opportunity to earn extra pocket money from selling food for breakfast to making cookies for the Hari Raya Celebration (this is the end of Ramadhan). But in this case, the meaning of prosperity should be in a deeper context for all those who truly appreciates the meaning of Ramadhan. When Ramadhan is embraced with sincerity, humility and generosity, God will hopefully reward us with more blessings and prosperity. Maximising of this P in Malay term is what I call earning more Pahala. We might not see the rewards immediately but we also need to do our "savings" for the afterlife :)

SD Malaysia would like to take the opportunity to wish all Malaysians a good Ramadhan !

Selangor To Launch Green Council

Dear YB Elizabeth Wong, 

Based on your comments, you are probably the first politician who articulates very well in the subject of Malaysia GHG reduction commitment. We do hope Selangor state will be the first in the country to declare its CO2 reduction target ! As residents in Selangor, we are more than happy to be part of the stakeholders to provide our inputs :)

Cheers.... 

we @ sdmalaysia

Selangor To Launch Green Council

-The Sun- by Tan Yi Liang
PETALING JAYA ( June 7, 2010 ): The Selangor government will be launching a Green Council to plan environmentally-friendly policies and initiatives.This was announced yesterday by Selangor Executive Councillor for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and the Environment Elizabeth Wong.

“We will be establishing the Selangor Green Council. It is a forum consisting of entrepreneurs, civil societies, scientists, educators who will help us formulate green policies and initiatives,” said Wong.

“This council will undertake activities to raise public awareness of climate change and the need to undertake policy shifts with regard to our approaches towards development,” she added.

Wong, who delivered the opening speech at the Greener Governance Talk organized by the Selangor Government said that Selangor had to take the lead as it was Malaysia’s most industrialized state.

“Selangor must take the lead in realizing Malaysia’s pledge at Copenhagen in October last year to reduce the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions,” said Wong, who revealed state government initiatives in that direction.

“We have initiated a special study to determine what would be our emissions,” she said.

“Selangor as a state can, and must play its part in the global solution to climate change by introducing sustainable development policies that include mitigation and adaptation,” added Wong, who pointed out that such developments could in fact be good for businesses.

“We are fully aware of the need to create jobs and business opportunities to increase Selangor’s prosperity. The council, along with entrepreneurs and businesses will recommend to the state pro-growth green initiatives.”

“Our efforts to address climate change should open new windows for entrepreneurs and businesses, including social entrepreneurs whose prime motivation is to provide social goods to the community,” said Wong.

“We need to mainstream climate change in sustainable development, and as a state government we must do our part in solidarity with the global community to address this issue,” added Wong. – theSun

Green Technology Budget for Malaysia: Leading by example

This is a another good news from the Prime Minister. You lead by example when you have your own office installed with Green features. Can't wait to see the results..... 

Source: BERNAMA

More Emphasis To Green Technology In 2011 Budget, Says Najib

PUTRAJAYA, July 6 (Bernama) -- Green technology will be one of the key areas to be given priority in the 2011 Budget, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"We need to go green. We have to provide enough incentives for private and public sectors to invest in green technology," he said.

For a start, the Government recently approved that the Prime Minister's Office must be a green building, he said.

"That would set as a benchmark. That has already been decided by the cabinet and is being implemented," he said in his closing remarks at the 2011 Budget consultation meeting here Tuesday.

"I am very keen to see what is happening in my office," he said.

On the meeting, Najib said he was pleased with the discussions that drew 455 participants.

They are from government agencies, government-linked companies (GLCs), business and corporate bodies, professional organisations, chambers of commerce and industry, academics and non-governmental organisations.

Najib said the Finance Ministry received 64 memorandums covering a wide spectrum of macro-economics, sectoral and social issues.

They're very useful ideas that we can pick up. I will combine these (ideas) with the initiatives carried out by the National Key Economic Areas labs.

"The labs will also come up with very useful suggestions to take on board as the 2011 Budget is the beginning of the next push towards Vision 2020," he said.

Najib said the 10 broad areas identified for discussions are human capital for the new economy, seizing local opportunities, enhancing renewable energy for sustainable environment and strengthening corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

"There is a need to encourage CSR activities for our companies to look after their employees' welfare," he said.

In some sub-sectors like plantations, there was a need to enhance some of the support that has been given to employees, he said.

"Terms and conditions of service and facilities provided, especially by GLCs, should be a model or benchmark and not the other way round," he added.

-- BERNAMA

STUDY: WHICH IS THE GREENEST CITY IN ASIA?

If you ask me, Kuala Lumpur might now win this award this year. We still have a long way to go when we compare to cities like Singapore or Tokyo based on the categories to be measured. 

SINGAPORE, June 29 (Bernama) -– Which is the greenest city in Asia? The answer to this question will only be known by the end of this year when the Asian Green City Index is out.

Siemens and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) announced today that they are conducting an environmental performance study on 20 leading Asian cities from 11 countries.

The countries are China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

In a statement released in conjunction with the on-going World Cities Summit here, Siemens said the cities would be compared in terms of their environmental sustainability.

The cities will be assessed in eight environmental categories: energy supply and CO2 emissions, transportation, buildings and land use, water, sanitation, waste, air quality and green governance.

SD is Sexy for an MCA Politician ;)

I've mentioned in one of my previous postings on the increasing use of the SD term by  Malaysians from all walks of life in the 21st century. The article below is an example of how a senior minister talks the SD lingo. 

Kudos to Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha for stressing the importance of SD beyond the green aspect and taking the initative for his ministry to review the Uniform Building By-Laws.  

YB Mr Minister

We know that now you have been assigned to the transport ministry but hopefully we hope your successor will continue in making SD a sexy subject in this country. It is indeed a sexy topic and if you dont believe me; just join this facebook group called Sustainable Development Is Sexy.

 

Many developers yet to go green

Source: btimes.com.my  

Many developers have yet to seriously consider the potential of sustainable development via the use of green technologies, a senior minister said.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, however, noted that several industry players had taken up the green challenge. “Several of the industry’s players are well on their way to creating the first batch of sustainable development in the country,” Kong said. He spoke to reporters after opening “The Green Solutions for Property Development 2010″ conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. It was organised by the Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning and Human Settlement (EAROPH Malaysia) and the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda). Kong said developers had yet to come to terms with balancing their bottomline with the incremental costs that comes with developing a green project. To promote the use of green technologies in buildings, the ministry is reviewing the Uniform Building By-Laws. “Some green technologies will be considered from the practical aspects to be incorporated into it in order to create a more sustainable living environment for homeowners, their families and the community at large,” he said. Kong said 2009 was a watershed year for green in Malaysia, with the introduction of various initiatives and incentives.

This included the launch in May the Green Building Index (GBI), an accreditation program with specific rating tools to encourage green building development.

The GBI rating tool is seen as a major undertaking as it seeks a good energy-efficient design, indoor environmental quality, site planning and management, materials, resources, water efficiency and innovation.

Stop becoming a "Jaguh Kampung" when it comes to championing SD

A "Jaguh Kampung" or Local Champion is a classic syndrome of Malaysians when we participate in competitions. Apparently we are able to perform exceptionally well in our own country but more often than not, we choked at International stage.

An extreme Jaguh Kampung case is when only Malaysians are the only ones who are good at doing certain peculiar things. It is a well known fact that even BBC reported this record-breaking obsession. 

In the case of SD; most companies, NGOs and government agencies claim to champion in doing something big in areas of green initiatives, corporate social responsibility etc. The reality is that we will still be a jaguh kampung until the outside world recognizes our achievement. 

Part of SD principles is to embrace openness and social justice when disclosing information without fear of being criticized. This approach allows stakeholders to learn the success stories as well as to appreciate any shortcomings. Evidently, we have seen some organisations behave like a true SD global champions. They are able to admit their mistakes, learn and minimize the probability to repeat them. So where can you find such organisations?

Today, we have many independent bodies that give recognition to these organisations. One established example is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). From the website: Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a network-based organization that has pioneered the development of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework and is committed to its continuous improvement and application worldwide. 

As of January 2009, more than 1,500 organizations from 60 countries produce "GRI compliant" sustainability reports.From that list, 6 companies are from Malaysia. They are Kulim Berhad, MRCB, PETRONAS, Plus Expressway, Telekom Malaysia and UEM Environment. Malaysia representation is still small in number (0.4 % from total submitted report) but we need to emulate these local SD players that have proven their ability to play at the international level. 

A special mention should be given to PETRONAS, that was once ranked last in a survey of the "World's Most Sustainable and Ethical Companies" conducted among 15 major oil companies by a Spanish-based ethics rating firm. This clearly shows that if you are really serious about SD, you can stop becoming a Jaguh Kampung and seriously join the true Global SD champion league.

TOP 10 in Green Companies does not equate to Top 10 Most Sustainable Companies

The local Klue website last year came up with the Top 10 Greenest Companies in Malaysia. I would really love to know what are the criteria to shortlist the 10 companies. Click here for the full list ->


KLue - Top 10: Green companies with Green initiatives in Malaysia


Congratulations to Digi, Sime Darby, Shell Malaysia, Panasonic Malaysia, YTL Group, MAS, Canon Malaysia, Aeon Co, HP Malaysia and Green Selipar. We hope you will continue to excel in your greening efforts.

At the same time, sdmalaysia would like to reemphasize the point that being green only accounts for 1/3 of the sustainability principles. In this case, Sime Darby is perceived to have failed in the other two dimensions namely profitability and people. 


From the profitability standpoint Sime Darby recently came under spotlight after incurring a whopping RM 1.6 billion (US$489 million) in losses.


The people dimension also shared the same fate. First the former CEO, Ahmad Zubir Murshid and perhaps other employees that will suffer the ripple effect after the announced losses.

Malaysian Contribution in Sustainable Development Literature

I discovered this book titled: Cut Carbon, Grow Profits at Amazon.com. The first editor is Dr Kenny Tang dubbed as "Asia's Al Gore". If you have not heard of Al Gore, please google the movie: An Inconvenient Truth. The other editor is this young talented Malaysian lady by the name of Ms. Ruth Yeoh who is also the Director of Investments at YTL Corporation Bhd. We should be proud to know that Malaysians are also seriously contributing to the SD topic particularly in the literature field. We also need to have more of such talents to document the Malaysian journey in SD.


The price tag for this book on Amazonis USD80/-. I hope I can get a copy here in Malaysia at a discounted price. Next mission is to do a book review and share this in blog !

p.s: hopefully I'll get the book signed by Ruth herself ;)

Sustainable development: the bigger picture (subtitled). Let's learn from others !!

You can find many excellent videos on SD subject in the youtube website. This one is from DEFRA, a government agency in the UK. Please let us know in which area where you think we as Malaysians can really learn from them? I put forward this challenge that we have our own stories to share in the virtual world :)

Malaysia in 2020: Developed or Bankrupt?

Back in 1991, the former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir mooted his Vision 2020 for Malaysia to transform to become a Developed Nation by 2020.


Fast forward today, we are left with less than ten years to chart the nation's development and claim our rights to be alongside countries like Japan, Germany, USA and the United Kingdom. However, even Mahathir himself is skeptic with the progress of Malaysia in achieving the 2020 goals. Read Here: STAR NEWS 


At the extreme, the Minister incharge of the Government Transformation Programme, Senator Idris Jala even suggested the possibility that Malaysia will go bankrupt by 2019. Read Here: Idris Jala: M’sia must cut subsidies, debt by 2019 or risk bankruptcy. , This outcome is definitely the antithesis of sustainability. If this happens, our society will reach a point of collapse, as brilliantly analysed by Jared Diamond in his book: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. 

Did Idris Jala attempt to tell this doom and gloom picture to the general Malaysians with the intent that we start doing things differently? I can't think of any other reasons that made him arrive to that bold statement.The sad truth is, I am as pessimistic as Tun Mahathir on the current state of the country. While we have been presented to us in numerous occasions with well crafted plans and strategies to formulate Malaysia's escape from the middle income trap status, we all know too well that MALAYSIA is still POOR at DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE EXECUTION. 


So where do go on from here? I can only offer 2 simple but effective solutions: 


First, we can stop blaming others when we fail to achieve our goals. This negative habit is very prevalent in our mindset today. Just take the most recent example of the excuses given by our National badminton players when they performed poorly at the last Thomas Cup: Read here . Take responsibility when you know that you have failed to deliver your task. Four Japanese Prime Ministers resigned in the last four years because they have chosen the path of honour and not to shame their country.  There was a sincere reason why Tun Mahathir had the Look East Policy way back in the 80s. 


Secondly, we especially leaders in our community really need to walk the talk and lead by example. When we encourage people to take the public transport, ask ourselves when is the last time we took a bus from our home to the work place. When we fight the cause to improve our education policy, do we send our kids to Sekolah Kebangsaan or the Private / International School? When we cry for our talents abroad to come back and serve the nation, how much do we pay foreign companies to do things our locals can do at fraction of the cost?


In the name of ensuring SD for Malaysia, it is not too late to change our behavior. For a start, why not apply the two solutions that I have proposed above?