SMES ESSENTIAL FOR ACHIEVING NET-ZERO GOALS - NIK NAZMI

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz

SINGAPORE, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Getting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on board the path to sustainability remains one of the major challenges for Malaysia's net-zero ambitions, said Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

Speaking at the Milken Institute’s 11th Annual Asia Summit panel session here, the minister emphasised the importance of including SMEs in the solution, as they are the backbone of many economies, including Malaysia.

“I believe that many of the larger companies have been able to address a lot of the issues. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange is very demanding when it comes to sustainability standards, so a lot of that has been ingrained to a great extent.

“One of the issues for us is the challenge of a just transition, to make the transition as inclusive as possible with regards to their workers and the companies, particularly the SMEs,” he said during the session titled ‘Powering the Transition to Sustainability-Centered Growth.’

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) accounted for 96.9 per cent (1,101,725 firms) of overall establishments in Malaysia in 2023, according to data from the Department of Statistics.

When asked about his vision for the next decade, Nik Nazmi expressed confidence that Malaysia will have a robust framework to track progress towards its net-zero goals, thanks to the climate change bill and the National Adaptation Plan.

He also hopes that ASEAN, as a region highly exposed to climate impacts, will unite to amplify its voice on the global stage for the developing world regarding sustainability issues.

"ASEAN needs to come together because with 670 million people, we will be the fourth-biggest economy (by 2030). That is something that we should leverage," he said.

Nik Nazmi also hoped that sustainability as a national policy would remain bipartisan, regardless of which political party comes into power.

-- BERNAMA