1. I’ve seen quite a few write-ups on this subject within a Malaysian context, and I can say that they have all been a disappointment. There were some that I had high hopes for, but again with all things ghost-written by a management consultant, the format, fonts, graphs are all there in all its pretentiousness, but very little by way of what needs to be executed and with strong courageous statements on what are the things that needs to be done. What was the last passionate, courageous statement that I have heard spoken on this context? The 40% conditional commitment by the PM in COP15 in 2009. And even then, what I’m hearing from the executioners down the line is that this was a stumble, poorly defined policy measure where it should be taken as a conviction to fully carry this through. Now, that in its entirety is what is missing in this country – a true, resolute commitment from the soul of what needs to be done, and then move mountains to do it.
2. Just to add on to the consultant-speak, I remember my consulting days when we were engaged to help translate the Iskandar Development tome, a massive, voluminous work that promised much and delivered little. I have no idea how much of that tome is of use. Have I also addressed before the prostitution of a consultant that contradicted its own tome when asked to re-do an assessment of innovation in Malaysia just 2-odd years on? Huge frustration is an understatement. But this is what happens when the positioning is that we’ll try to attract attention to the things that we do with glossy write-ups, and then fail to continue that by developing the necessary manpower and expertise to carry it through. And oftentimes, the expertise that comes across are the ones without the necessary passion, but loud-mouthed enough ie articulate to impress, and not enough to understand the real issues. Ok, now that I have got the moaning off my chest, perhaps I can relook at the issues again in a bit more detail.
3. What are sustainability issues? Again, like innovation, it is systemic. You cant adopt bits and pieces, and hope we are transformed overnight. Look at Liverpool, struggling to reclaim its throne. I’m impressed with Dalglish, that while still marginally not as good in terms of results as good as Rafa had (pre09-10), you can see the imposition of a new philosophy which can only be good in the mid-term. It takes balls to impose a philosophy to something which is already pretty good, and its thanks to Hodgson as it was his failings that meant this new philosophy has to imposed. I digress. But this is the crux of the issue.
4. We can import Feed-in Tariffs, and have 3 years of solar pv quotas sold out within 2 hours. But beyond making Malaysian contractors some margins on installation, where is the indigenous technology going to come from? How do you effect, rather than impose, innovation? Is there a demand for these productivity enhancements? Are we happy with what we have? Is mediocrity the consequence of accepting a lowered bar? What then drives people to seek a higher bar? Increased profits? What is the motivation? Family? Money? Recognition? What is the regulatory role to raise this bar?
5. And now back to the climate change and sustainability issues. Where are we after the COP15 announcement in 2009, apart from still chasing our tail? Kyoto will likely expire and we’d need to know what the alternatives can be. If the CDM market is no longer there, where then is our role in the greater scheme of things. Apart from palm oil trying to outdo European lobbyists allegations of destructive practices, and thereby inculcating sustainability principles in RSPO, (again looking tenuous at the moment), what are the other motivating factors to preach and practice sustainability.
6. Again, the western world and their corporate representatives, are no saints and are just as hypocritical in using carbon footprints and declarations of carbon neutrality. This isn’t a question on moral obligation. This is purely a marketing and business perspective.
7. To force the issue out in the open is to say that business, finance, profits reward green and sustainability practices, the better you are at this the more rewarded you are. This is the position in Canada when they effectively said they will no longer be signatories to whatever the Kyoto protocol looks like post-2012. The materialistic philosophy driving the corporate world now has driven this position. But that’s looking at the corporate world as the most significant influencer of sustainability issues. I would like to suggest that the biggest influencer is really society.
8. Just like the Arab Spring is condemnation of dictatorial regimes, it will be a matter of time when the aggravation will be directed to the corporates. And when it does, facebook, twitter, foursquare and what have you will determine which companies will be rewarded for their faith in building a better world, with or without government intervention, with or without discussions on impact to profit margin. In the meantime, I would like to see the building up of capabilities into this area and conversant in the policy-making, techno-economic, financial considerations and societal and welfare considerations.
