MALAYSIA is making every effort to accelerate its progress towards achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming said institutional frameworks have been set to ensure inclusive participation involving all levels of stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of SDGs.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic has reversed some of Malaysia’s gains in SDG progress earlier and has further exacerbated existing social and economic inequalities.

Out of the 146 indicators available in 2020, 49 (34%) have improved, 34 (23%) have not changed, while 41 (28%) have decreased, while the remaining 22 (15%) are non-statistical indicators.

“Malaysia remains committed to achieve the goals… We want to prove to the world that we are a serious global player to push for SDG goals based on all initiatives, legal framework and core national policies.

“We hope that with our commitment, determination, and by working with other countries, we will be able to make Malaysia an exemplary model of SDG goals,” he said today.

Nga is attending 10th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development in Bangkok. He joined 1,300 representatives from 51 countries in the forum organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

The forum brought together a cross-section of key development actors, including senior government and UN officials, the private sector, youth and civil society representatives to share their challenges and experiences to deliver a common goal.

At the forum, Nga also delivered the country’s statement titled “Towards the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Summit” where Nga said his ministry is focused on seven key areas that will effectively accelerate the localisation of SDGs.

These include enhancing the smart and sustainable cities agenda, developing and empowering local government, strengthening municipal finance, developing a comprehensive housing plan, empowering communities, managing solid waste effectively and efficiently towards a circular economy, and strengthen the readiness of firefighters.

Nga added that the government would enhance the quality of urban areas by providing social spaces that improve liveability, reducing carbon emission and at the same time conserving and protecting the biodiversity of the city.

“We have to date 11,773 parks and open spaces that are made accessible to the public. We have also planted 58.52 million trees and the target is 100 million trees by 2025. We also hope to provide 20sqm of open spaces and green areas to every resident,” he said.

To spearhead the strategic initiative towards the development and deployment of electric vehicles (EV) in Malaysia, Nga said his ministry has developed the planning guidelines of EV charging stations in the country.

Malaysia has also developed the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint (2021–2030) which are strategies and action plans for the land transport sector to achieve the objective of reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. – Bernama, March 27, 2023.