LETTER TO THE EDITOR
MAKE ENVIRONMENT A PRIORITY, NOT AN
AFTERTHOUGHT
It is heartening to know that 69% of
Malaysian voters consider environmental protection to be one of the factors
that will influence the way they will vote in the upcoming General Elections
(The Star, Sun 15 March 2018: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/04/15/pakatan-manifesto-on-environmental-protection-more-specific-say-activists/).
For far too long, sustainability and
environmental conservation have been put on the backburner or seen as something
ideal but inessential. In recent years, the destruction and human suffering caused
by the East Coast floods, the 2014 droughts which led to water rationing in
Selangor, the pollution of water sources in Cameron Highlands, reduced fish
bycatch, the clearing of more land and forest for highway and infrastructure
construction, the recurring haze, wildlife deaths and the economic uncertainty
arising from the European Parliament’s proposed ban on palm oil biodiesel from
Malaysia for environmental reasons have all played a role in raising public
awareness on the interconnectedness of human and environmental well-being.
Having perused the election manifestos of
both political coalitions, however, I am of the opinion that more specific,
effective and convincing pledges need to be made. As we are all aware, the
actions of legislators and governmental decision-makers are often inconsistent
with their pledges. Some of these inconsistencies are pointed out below:
ON CLIMATE MITIGATION
Both coalitions pledge to take action to
reduce carbon emissions by way of measures such as cleaner diesel and petrol
and increasing the development and use of renewable energy.
Yet at the same time Barisan Nasional’s
pledges to accelerate the growth of the oil and gas industries, its Forest
Economy Policy which focus is on income generation and not conservation and its
proposals to construct more roads and highways effectively efface any good that
its plans to introduce electric buses, switch to LED lights and create urban
parks and recreational areas could potentially create.
Pakatan Harapan has pledged to promote the
development and use of green technology and renewable energy and halt Barisan
Nasional’s plans to construct a nuclear power plant, but at the same time plans
to reintroduce petroleum subsidies and construct more roads and highways.
Both coalitions should instead focus on
policies to reduce reliance on private vehicle ownership and driving, by
establishing reliable and affordable non-fossil fuel powered public transport
systems, creating incentives for telecommuting and upgrading existing road and
rail infrastructure instead of opening up more land for highways and roads.
ON DEFORESTATION
Both coalitions pledged to curtail illegal
logging and manage forests and forest resources sustainably, despite their
existing history of doing the exact opposite. Barisan Nasional had authorized logging
and forest clearing in Ulu Muda, Merapoh and Terenggun, among others, despite
knowing the importance of the ecosystem services provided by these forest reserves.
Similarly, Pakatan Harapan in its previous
election manifesto had pledged to gazette and conserve forests and halt illegal
logging, but went on to degazette parts of the Selangor State Park for the
construction of the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE), and this action makes
voters now wary about their lofty promises to halt deforestation.
Both coalitions pledged to preserve
biodiversity and wildlife populations, yet under their watch, the construction
of yet more highways and roads has opened up access to wildlife for poachers
and wildlife traffickers, and caused an alarming increase in wildlife roadkill.
The rakyat needs to witness sincerity on
the part of the political leaders in protecting forests, water catchment areas
and environmentally sensitive areas. No amount of public relations exercises
comprising the planting of trees in urban parks is able to reverse the adverse
impact of rampant deforestation, fragmentation of wildlife habitats and the
opening up of more land for infrastructure projects.
ON WASTE MANAGEMENT AND PLASTIC POLLUTION
Both coalitions promised to improve solid
waste collection services and ease of recycling. Yet Barisan Nasional proposed
to reverse the ban on free plastic bags in Pakatan states, and has allowed the
plastics manufacturing industry to be a powerful lobby. In Pakatan states, the
ban on free plastic bags has normalized waste reduction practices and
encouraged consumer environmental responsibility, but the replacement of styrofoam
food packaging with other forms of plastic packaging that are neither
biodegradable nor collected and recovered for recycling has cancelled some of
the benefits of the plastic bag and styrofoam ban.
According to a 2015 study published in
Science journal, Malaysia is among the top 8 highest-offending ocean plastic
polluters in the world. Malaysia is one of the 200 countries which signed the December
2017 UN resolution on microplastics and marine litter, but has to date not been
seen to do anything constructive to reduce plastics production, consumption and
disposal, although the Selangor State Government has been regularly cleaning up
its beaches, which, while commendable, constitutes a treatment of the symptoms
and not the cause.
Both coalitions need to create incentives
for waste reduction and alternatives to plastics and other harmful and wasteful
materials and industries. The environment cannot wait. Already human and animal
health and food security have been adversely affected by plastics pollution and
poor waste management practices.
Voters are becoming better informed, and
will not stand for environmental tokenism by either political coalition. It
cannot be the job of concerned citizens, non-governmental organisations and
volunteers alone to protect and speak up for Malaysia’s natural environment and
resources. Malaysia stands to gain more economic benefits and ecosystem
services from keeping its forests, mangroves and other
environmentally-sensitive areas intact and biologically diverse, than from
issuing permits for logging, mining and road construction. The time to act for
the environment is now. Environmental conservation should be each political
coalition’s main consideration in all its policies and decisions, and not an
afterthought.
WONG EE LYNN
COORDINATOR,
GREEN LIVING
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP,
MALAYSIAN
NATURE SOCIETY
