Dr Muiz on National TV this morning !

As working people, we occasionally suffer from the Monday Blues. However, SDMALAYSIA thought that today is an exceptional case !

On Hello On Two (HOT), a daily English morning talkshow on TV2 (RTM), our very own Dr Muiz Murad was invited as a guest in the TV programme to share great insights on the Green Building subject matter. He was joined by two other guests (Mr. Ahmad Najib of GEDS Sdn Bhd & Mr Matthias Gelber aka The Greenest Man on Earth) . Those who saw him live this morning will vouch on the fact that he is VERY Passionate in championing the green building agenda in the Malaysian context.  

The most profound statement that he raised was on the distortion on perception made by many developers to target only certain group of affluent consumers when marketing green Properties. Unlike most developed countries, Malaysians of middle to lower income groups may not have the luxury to embrace sustainable living due to limited choices they have in the property market.

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Not to be discouraged, he has provided various solutions to address this matter and shared his experiences in helping developers, local councils and other key stakeholders.  

SDMalaysia congratulates him for that EXCELLENT Breakfast talk this morning. This is definetely a great inspring way to start the week ! (Note: Next show BBC & Al Jazeera !)

subsidy is not sustainable and can make malaysians life shorter!

why do we love subsidy so much? for the simple reason that others bear our cost of the goods/ services we consume.

today, malaysians are blessed by the govt generosity to subsidise many items such as petroleum, gas and even sugar! well in actual fact the source of subsidy comes from the govt revenue coming from various sources. Petronas, the Fortune 500 oil company is one of the most significant cash cow for the govt. about 1million out of 28 mil malaysians pay income tax to the govt.

can subsidy ensure sustainability of the country?

if impelemented at the right target group, there is a strong chance this mechanism will lead to them improving their well being.

today, the subsidy is very much a blanket approach to satisfy the majority. for example, from the under priviliged to the upper class society, all will pay the same cheap fuel price for their cars. the number of cars on the road increases leading to other problems especially daily traffic jams in cities like kuala lumpur. sdmalaysia would be interested to know the productivity loss and drivers stress level contributed from this problem.

sugar too is a subsidised item leading to many of us consuming this item without caring for our health. world health organisation also reported that we malaysians dont regularly exercise.

sdmalaysia thinks thAt it is important that we remind each other on the downside of subsidy.

we want to be a developed nAtion hence it is time that we move away from the subsidy mentality. special targeted group should be taken care of but not the majority of us. as it is, only some of us who pay tax to ensure other ppls comfort.

say no to fuel and sugar subsidy for a sustainable malaysia, otherwise say yes to living a shorter lifespan thanks to the two cheap commodities!

Don't buy your next green property yet before you read this!

SDMalaysia thinks that sometimes, industry players tend to be very selfish when it comes to promote green agenda in the buiding sector.  There are two scenarios that will tend to take place when developers embark on new developement projects.

Scenario I: Old school developers that don't understand the importance of sustainability principles. Whilst they are considered a dying breed, you can't entirely blame this group since they genuinly don't know what they don't know. 

Scenario II: Introduce minimal green initiatives in project and use marketing ploy to charge consumers a bomb. Remember, Sustainability is more than promoting green concepts. The other 2 Ps (Profit and People) most often than not are compromised. We all know in Malaysia, sustainability measures in the construction industry is at a very dismal state. Just look at the condition of the of foreign workers employed by the most CONSTRUCTION companies. Most of them are living in hazardous environment and earn VERY low income (as a result of locals who perceived to shy away from the 3D; dangerous, dirty and difficult jobs).

So how will you know that when you buy your next property, the investment brings sustainable value for the overall 3Ps (Planet, People and Prosperity) ?

SDMalaysia is proud to announce that one of our key individual, Dr Nurul Muiz Murad will be making a special apprereace at the coming GreenBuild Asia 2012.

• Date : 15 February, 2012
• Time : 2.00 to 2.45 pm
• Venue : Seminar Room 1, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
• Topic :

A Cost Effective Way for Green Residential Green Development     

Make a date with Dr Muiz and be enlightened by the holistic understanding of Green Building from him :)

Malaysia Transformation: Can we really learn from others in 2012 ?

 

2012 will be very interesting time for all of us.  Many will continue to feel the pinch from the global economic crisis but some who demonstrate strong resilience and good discipline will emerge victorious !  For Malaysians, we should have high appreciation of the global trend to survive even at our very own backyard. This is the era of Global Village after all.  

SD malaysia believes america and europe are refocussing their effort to put the their economy back in order.

as a result, very strong tendency to fall back to the business as usual approach.

Green agenda that requires strong political will have to be put at the back burner.

Asia, particularly India and China will have the opportunity to strengthen their global presence. we just hope that wont take the short cut to achieve their dreams !

Middle East region has finally made the global news in terms of the change in political reform. This is a wake up call for them (and ALL of US) !

Latin America, relatively quiet but will have full of surprises....

Africa, can they keep up with the global pace to at least remain relevant?

Last but no least, may we all be better prepared for any catastrophes this year be it manmade or natural.  Japan and Thailand last year suffered in many dimensions but came back strong !