Water Management And Green Economy Challenges In Malaysia
In fact, 55% of Malaysia’s solid plastic wastes are mismanaged. Therefore, waste management poses the biggest challenge for the Malaysian government in transitioning to a green economy. This is because heavy coordination with the public is required, yet Malaysians are evidently too accustomed to disposing trash and lack interest in safeguarding environmental cleanliness. In addition, it is difficult in practice to penalize individuals that misuse recycling bins or illegally litter. Thus, the lack of a solution to this will result in the increased dependence on landfill sites to house wastes. However, there has been a Mandatory Waste Separation Program launched in 2015 that forces Malaysian households to organize recyclables from their trash or risk a fine of RM1000 (US$240) which could cut burdens on landfills by 40% if successful. But there are no statistics or data on its organization and execution to judge its success currently.
Malaysia’s inefficiency in the control of its aquatic resources may obstruct the country from satisfying rising water demands. Referring back to land management, there is no prohibition towards industrial sewage being deposited in rivers and waterways from “palm oil mills, rubber factories, and animal husbandry” as well as a strong concentration of “suspended sediments” from other urban activities like infrastructure development and deforestation. This is an issue for future populations as 97% of Malaysia’s raw water is derived from mainly rivers. Dependence on groundwater is not an option as discussed earlier on how landfills contaminate this supply. The situation is not as pessimistic statistically, only 7. 2% of rivers are categorized as “polluted. ” But with increasing industrial activity and demands for water rising from different sectors, rivers will only degrade in water quality. In addition, rising incomes will also result in the further overuse of water. Exacerbating this is the lack of efficiency with water distribution. There is poor incentive to use water sparingly in the agricultural sector as irrigation water is charged based on how much area it is used in, rather than volume.
Leaks in the distribution system also results in a loss of water, between a quarter to a third of the supply. As for greywater schemes, there has been no report of this within Malaysia. This is critical as having a secured distribution of clean water supply is not only expected within a green economy but necessary for the everyday industrial use and by the rising population. Continued water contamination will only lead to constraints in the water supply as a cost, which will raise the future prices of anything that requires this resource. This risk of water scarcity within Malaysia is not being mitigated by the government; because it is being managed by different bodies(not one dedicated agency) to manage water as a resource [49] It is also the case that much of the legislation is “outdated, redundant, or ambiguous” which would explain the current misuse of water in Malaysia. Therefore, these factors demonstrate that Malaysia’s capability to manage water sustainability for a growing or green economy requires severe improvement in every body that is responsible for this resource.
To conclude, Malaysia can transition to a green economy should the country be economically capable in the long run, as financing is arguably the most important factor. This is because the Malaysian government prioritizes reducing the country’s abnormal financial debt, which will minimize the want to risk investing in green projects. However, it is expected in the long run that the economic variables that dictate Malaysia’s economy such as its trade volumes and attraction of investment opportunities will grow to a healthy level appropriate for sustainable development projects. In addition, Malaysia is expected to be equipped with effective green financing strategies through the GTFS and Islamic banking as banks will be more familiar and confident in funding green projects. This will ultimately allow for the expansion of renewable energies and clean transportation which is critical in achieving the low carbon aspect of a green economy, arguably the most relevant in a global context.
On the other hand, Malaysia is taking retrograde steps with its lack of legislation towards pollution by its industries. The historically extended prolonging of little to no intervention towards this undermines the sustainability of important resources within Malaysia’s economy such as water and unpolluted land. But it can be argued that in a favorable financial setting, the development of sustainable projects will carry its momentum to solve problems with resource management, as it is a form of hindrance to the wider system of a green economy. Thus with a stronger economy, interventionist policies can be more comfortably used to prevent industrial pollution; whilst also developing sustainable palm oil as a continued important export for Malaysia. Indifferent to this is the issue of waste management as there is no current method to effectively coordinate with the public; most likely only solvable through strongly enforced law. However, even with these economic expectations, there is still not enough current evidence to confidently conclude that the Malaysian government can achieve its ambitious goals such as the Electric Mobility Blueprint plan. Still, it can be said that Malaysia can competently develop most of its green sectors.
From a pessimistic point of view, Malaysia can at least realistically achieve a low carbon economy. Nonetheless, it is critical that Malaysia is taking steps towards a sustainable future which triumphs over the short-term successes of an unsustainable economic model.
