DAP is ready to assist the government in organising a national climate change conference to flesh out fresh ideas to help restore Malaysia’s international reputation on the issue, said party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

To this end, Lim said the party – despite its position as an opposition party – was willing to allow former environment minister Yeo Bee Yin share the expertise with the government.

He added that Yeo had been internationally recognised for her work on the environment and climate change.

Lim said Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has shown himself to be inadequate to the task of providing the required leadership and expertise on climate change.

Lim said Tuan Ibrahim’s inadequacies have resulted in Malaysia’s exclusion by US President Joe Biden from the Leaders’ Summit on Climate in the United States on April 22 and 23.

He also rejected Tuan Ibrahim’s explanation as to why Malaysia was not invited to the summit involving 40 other countries, including neighbouring Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Tuan Ibrahim yesterday said Malaysia was not invited to the US summit as it is not categorised as a country vulnerable to climate change.

He added the main objective of the conference was to encourage large economies that collectively contribute 80% of greenhouse gases to limit global warming to 1.5C.

He said there were many countries that stood out on the climate change agenda – such as Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand – that were also not invited to attend the conference.

However, Lim said Tuan Ibrahim’s explanation only showed his lack of knowledge and enthusiasm for climate change activism.

“Clearly Malaysia is not seen by the US as a strategic environmental partner on climate change, inferior even to Vietnam, despite slowly becoming a favoured dumping ground for US co-called ‘clean’ plastic waste.

“Tuan Ibrahim should not be in a state of denial by this snub.

“Instead, he should react responsibly and positively by seeking assistance on how to restore Malaysia’s previous leadership on climate change activism,” said Lim.

He added that if Parliament was not suspended due to the emergency, lawmakers can make suggestions during parliamentary meetings. – April 8, 2021.