THE Pakatan Harapan initiative to amend the federal constitution to lower the voting age to 18, which received overwhelming support from the opposition, marked a significant day for democracy in Malaysia.

It was a promising sign of bipartisan initiatives, although the nature of the country’s political system after 60 years of independence is still tilted towards ethno-religious expediency. It is hoped that youth will lead the way by challenging the traditional trade unionism, which has little affinity with environmental issues, currently in place.

Labour unions have little leverage in politics and national policies due to infighting between their leaders, some of whom hold on to their positions for long periods, refusing to hand over the reins to the next generation, who can come up with progressive ideas. It is rare to see current union leaders speaking about the ills of neoliberalism, or forming a coalition of labour and environmental groups. It is hoped the unifying and compelling factor of such movements that serves the common good of both the present and future can emerge in the consciousness of the younger generation.

One of the key areas that needs to be looked into by youth is the future of work related to the greening of the economy. Towards this end, it is essential to build a political and economic foundation for a green economy, for green jobs to flourish.

Although the PH government has made promises concerning such jobs, what is lacking is the critical political and economic foundation to allow the transition to take place.

A simple example is the prime minister still talking about a new national car project instead of enhancing the public transport system to reduce pollution. And, an international school, which took an environmental stance with regard to development, had to apologise to a minister.

Years have passed, and Malaysia’s roads are still flooded with carbon-emitting vehicles. Economic development is still observed through gross domestic product indicators, and the cost of environmental pollution and damage is not part of the equation.

If we look at the pace of climate change, it is obvious that older Malaysians’ environmental consciousness is low. In their lopsided desire to industrialise and build expensive houses and transport infrastructure, the political elite have ignored the importance of the ecosystem.

Landslides, air and river pollution, logging and the clearing of forests to make way for oil palm cultivation make the transition to a green economy an uphill battle. The natural disasters that come about from the corruption of the environment usually affect the common people more than the elite, what more, the livelihoods of indigenous and coastal communities.

Malaysia today is in dire need of a youthful green-labour political movement to challenge the neoliberal political ideology cultivated by the ethno-religious centre-right political circle, which has a poor environmental record. It is obvious that the PH government, which had promised institutional reforms, and the former Barisan Nasional administration have little appetite for preserving the environment.

Youth can play a critical part by forming a coalition of green-labour groups that support the Earth. Policies should be introduced, focusing on an approach that promotes harmonious interactions between human beings and nature, in the context of the future of work.

The basis of all economic decisions should, in some way, be tied to the ecosystem. We should recognise that natural capital and ecological services have economic value.

These decisions should not merely be an alternative to ethno-religious politics. They should be part of a process that accelerates the transition to a high-value green economy that rejects neoliberalism.

Green jobs can be realised only if there is a political and socioeconomic foundation supporting their creation. – August 5, 2019.

* Ronald Benjamin is Association for Community and Dialogue secretary.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.