We need a comprehensive sustainable development policy

 

Every so often, different parts of Malaysia come under siege as the result of apathetic attitudes towards the environment and the planet that we live in and owe our living to.

Unseasonal harsh weather conditions have brought on massive landslides and destructive floods, with severe collateral damage including the loss of lives.

Of course, climate change is the go-to cause and trigger for all the malaise. It is the same scenario globally.

In fact, Malaysia is blessed to be spared from earthquakes and hurricanes that continue to plague countries situated within the “Ring of Fire” and in the paths of hurricanes.

Nevertheless, Malaysia must proactively undertake all necessary measures to pursue the goals of sustainable development.

“Sustainable” means that something is able to be maintained at a certain level or rate, which of course, is globally endorsed as acceptable.

Sustainable development demands that we seek ways and means of living, working and being on the path that enables us to lead healthy, fulfilling and economically secure lives without destroying the environment and without endangering the future welfare of the people and the planet.

It is a goal that cuts across the entire spectrum of any and all societies and nations for the good of all inhabitants of the planet.

Sustainable development would also help to ensure that the needs of all of us in the present can be met without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

As such, sustainable development needs having the right vision for the future and the future generations among the policy planners, the implementers and the society as a whole.

It is not merely about calculating benefits in the context of financial investment and returns, but more importantly, in the context of opportunity costs in the future, and the losses to be faced by successive generations as a result of what can be called the “rape” of nature today.

Learning from the painful lessons of the past up to now, there is an urgent need to formulate and implement a sustainable development policy that can set out the following measures and programmes that are targeted to the various stakeholders of the nation, such as:

1. The government itself at the federal, state, district and local authorities levels, with rules and regulations to set out parameters for ensuring all activities in society contribute towards national sustainable development, in parallel with enforcement and penalties for violations.

2. Educative processes within the education system on the responsible care of the environment to enable the young to understand their own roles and responsibilities in contributing towards sustainable development.

3. Ensuring that businesses and industrial sectors are putting into place measures in their business planning and operations that will, within specific time frames, comply with the imperatives of sustainable development objectives, especially in the context of giving the right weightage to the new three P’s of the bottom line - profits, people and the planet.

4. Ensuring continuous educative processes among all sectors of society to enable them to understand and appreciate at the micro-levels of the family, peer groups, personal levels and what they can do or avoid doing in order to ensure sustainable lifestyles and living.

In short, there is that crosscutting aspect of roles and responsibilities within the nation to achieve the elusive goals of sustainable development.

It is one thing to attend international conferences to discuss carbon and toxic emissions and climate change, as well as to set targets at the individual national level. It is something else to bring the issues to the level of the individuals in society.

Making sense of the need for sustainable development

It is about making sense at the layman level of the need for sustainable development and to make the layman understand what he or she must do, or not do, in ensuring responsible care for the environment.

That layman may be a manufacturer of container products, which can end up as harmful as pollutants when another layman, the consumer, indiscriminately disposes of the product into waterways and such.

What is needed is not merely a policy for sustainable development, which provides the often tiresome narratives regarding emissions, biodegradable elements and pollution in its various forms, or fixing targets for international consumption and acceptance.

It is now more about bringing it to the basic level of knowledge, understanding and acceptance within Malaysian society so that decision-makers do not facilitate the rape of nature by condoning the conversion of green lungs and green areas into “brick and mortar” development or allowing indiscriminate real estate developments on age-old highlands that in the future may trigger landslides and havoc.

Sustainable development must be a serious commitment by the government and the people.

It is beyond merely measuring the GDP and economic growth, or the classification of society by income levels.

It is about doing what’s good and right now, so that development, both in the quantitative and qualitative contexts, can benefit the present and all the future generations. - Mkini

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RAFIDAH AZIZ is a former international trade and industry minister.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

✍ Credit given to the original owner of this post : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH

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