Deputy economy minister says resignations from Rafizi, Nik Nazmi won't derail Malaysia's future plans
KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — The resignations of two key ministers will not disrupt the progress of the National Environmental, Social and Governance Strategic Plan (NESP) or the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), both of which are nearing completion, said Deputy Economy Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib.
To a question on the progress of NESP and 13MP, Hanifah Hajar confirmed that the 13MP is almost ready to be presented to the Cabinet, while work on the NESP is actively ongoing.
'All ministries understand the importance of ESG (environmental, social and governance), and our civil servants have been working on it with clear ideas they want to implement,' she told reporters on the sidelines of the Forward Faster Symposium 2025 hosted by the UN Global Compact Network Malaysia and Brunei (UNGCMYB) here today.
It was reported that the 13MP document is expected to be tabled in Parliament next month.
However, she noted that a definitive timeline for the delivery of the NESP has yet to be confirmed.
This follows the resignation of Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli as Minister of Economy and the resignation of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, which will take effect on July 4.
Earlier in her keynote address at the symposium, Hanifah Hajar said the NESP is aligned with global ESG frameworks and complements six pillars under the National Sustainability Strategic Framework and Industry ESG.
'The NESP is a comprehensive initiative aimed at guiding Malaysian businesses toward ESG compliance and sustainable practices. It will support Malaysian business entities, especially small and medium enterprises in phases, to move toward ESG reporting and even beyond compliance,' she said.
The one-day symposium brought together over 200 participants, including high-level executives, sustainability practitioners, and business leaders.
With the theme 'Accelerating Corporate Sustainability Commitments for a Resilient Future,' the event featured in-depth discussions and high-level dialogues on the evolving role of business in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The discussions were seen as timely amid economic headwinds and rising geopolitical tensions, with Malaysian corporate leaders increasingly strengthening their ESG commitments and positioning sustainability as a strategic tool to manage risk, drive long-term value, and contribute to national development. — Bernama
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
3 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Annuar Zaini replaces Farhash as 7-Eleven chairman
Annuar Zaini is a board member of Socso and a senior adviser to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. (Bernama pic) KUALA LUMPUR : 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd has appointed Annuar Zaini, 73, as its new independent and non-executive chairman. He replaces Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, who resigned on May 30, a day after the company's annual general meeting. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, 7-Eleven said Annuar is a seasoned civil servant and corporate figure with over 40 years of experience. He is currently a board member of Socso, chairman of Country Annex Sdn Bhd, MRCB Land Sdn Bhd and UDA Holdings Bhd, and senior advisor of international affairs to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Free Malaysia Today
3 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Rental aid for Putra Heights gas explosion victims extended to next April
The explosion on April 1 sent flames more than 30m high, with temperatures reaching 1,000°C, and left a 9.8m-deep crater at the site. SHAH ALAM : The Selangor government will continue providing rental assistance to victims of the gas pipeline explosion at Putra Heights in Subang Jaya at least until April next year. State housing and culture committee chairman Borhan Aman Shah said the RM2,000 monthly rental assistance will ensure victims have appropriate shelter until their homes are repaired. 'Initially, the state government agreed to provide rental support for six months, but we have decided to extend it for up to a year or more, especially for homes that were completely destroyed, as rebuilding will take time,' he said in a statement today. 'For houses that were partially damaged, assistance will also continue until repairs are fully completed. 'The aid will only be discontinued once the occupants are able to return to their homes.' Borhan said the state government will monitor the progress of the repair to ensure efficient use of funds allocated for the assistance. On April 30, menteri besar Amirudin Shari announced that the Selangor government had allocated RM2.73 million in rental assistance to 455 families affected by the incident, covering six months from April. The Petronas gas pipeline fire on April 1 sent flames more than 30m high, with temperatures reaching 1,000°C. The blaze took nearly eight hours to extinguish and left a 9.8m-deep crater at the site.
Free Malaysia Today
3 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Madani economic reforms earn 50% score from Khairy
The number of people who pay taxes in Malaysia is disproportionately smaller than our peers, said Khairy Jamaluddin. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Former minister Khairy Jamaluddin has given the Madani government a 50% score for its performance on structural economic reforms since its formation in November 2022. Khairy pointed to three key areas that he believed demanded changes – widening the tax base, rationalising subsidies and pension reforms. He said the unity government has yet to carry out meaningful tax reforms to widen its revenue base, which he added was significantly lower even compared with peers in terms of gross domestic product. 'The number of people that pay taxes in Malaysia is disproportionately smaller than our peers, and that creates a problem for the government because your revenue base is too small. That's why we introduced the GST (goods and services tax),' he said, referring to the tax scheme introduced by the Najib Razak government in 2015. He pointed out that the planned expansion of the sales and service tax has been repeatedly delayed, while maintaining that a consumption tax like the GST was the way to go. (Government figures show that GST raised RM43.8 billion in 2018, while SST for 2024 is estimated at 44.7 billion) On subsidy rationalisation, Khairy said the biggest hurdle was targeting the RON95 petrol subsidies, which cost Putrajaya RM20 billion in 2023. The former Rembau MP said the last major reform needed was pension reforms, which is expected to balloon to around RM30 billion in the next decade. 'And it's going to rise because of the number of civil servants retiring, and life expectancy has also gone up,' he said, adding that the solution was getting rid of pensions for new government hires and shifting to EPF contributions. 'So if out of three big structural reforms, it's one and a half. So it's 50%,' he said in an episode of the Game of Impossible podcast with former minister Idris Jala and his son, Leon. The government is set to implement targeted subsidies for RON95 in the second half of the year, though details have not been released yet. Putrajaya has also announced that new civil servants would no longer get pensions but would contribute to EPF and the Social Security Organisation. Khairy reiterated that these reforms were important to ensure the country had enough funds for public services like health, education, and transport. 'You don't have enough money to make all the changes you want,' he said.
