Malaysia ahead of global average in SDG implementation

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (MNTV) – The world is “alarmingly” off-track in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, said United Nations (UN) secretary-general António Guterres in May this year. Malaysia’s investments in SDG governance have paid off, however, and its progress in achieving the SDGs is above the global average, reports The Edge Malaysia.

This is based on Malaysia’s latest Voluntary National Review (VNR) presented at the UN High-Level Political Forum in New York last month. Malaysia’s VNR shows that 43% of the SDG targets are on track to be met by 2030, compared with the global average of 17%.

Contributing factors to this achievement include the alignment of the national development agenda with the SDGs since the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016 to 2020), the establishment of SDG road maps and improvements in data collection.

The inclusion of civil society organisations (CSOs) and localisation of the SDG agenda in states and municipalities are two other notable achievements.

Omna Sreeni-Ong, founder and principal consultant of Engender Consultancy, cites the working committee on CSOs chaired by the Malaysia CSO-SDG Alliance — of which she is a member — and the establishment of the All Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on the SDGs (APPGM-SDG) as examples. The APPGM-SDG localises SDGs in parliamentary constituencies, in collaboration with members of parliament. 

“We hope to see the integration of SDGs in the 13th Malaysia Plan’s implementation and monitoring framework for a measurable and coherent outcome. The SDGs provide a rigorous results-based framework, underscored by a rights-based and gender-responsive approach that complements the national development plan,” she says.

Ahmad Afandi, independent consultant and researcher at Greenglaive Consulting, praises the government for voluntarily preparing the VNR, signalling its willingness to be accountable.

The work being done by CSOs and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on SDGs is also highlighted in the VNR, which can be used as a reference by others, he adds.

Another positive thing to note is the improvement in data collection by the government, which is done by designating the Department of Statistics Malaysia as the focal point for SDG data, and establishing the National SDG Progress Monitoring system. The VNR highlights that the availability of SDG indicators rose to 79% in 2023, from 52% in 2020.

But more needs to be done. There must be more disaggregated data, suggest Afandi and Sreeni-Ong, where data is categorised by income level, gender, age or disability status and so on. Official data should be supplemented with third-party sources, including those from academia, CSOs and NGOs.

“In this regard, an emerging global consideration that is being promoted is the utilisation of citizen-generated data to complement official statistics, fill data gaps and enhance inclusive decision-making,” says Sreeni-Ong. 

Where Malaysia is off-track

There are also SDGs where Malaysia is off-track (based on forecast SDG performance targets from 2022 data). These include Goal 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) at 58%; Goal 3 (good health and well-being) at 54%; Goal 5 (gender equality) at 44%; Goal 13 (climate action) at 40%; and Goal 14 (life below water) at 40%.

Afandi observes that SDG 13 (climate action) is off-track because it is still a work in progress, although the government recognises the challenge and is preparing the National Adaptation Plan, adopting disaster risk-reduction strategies at the sub-national level and improving disaster governance.

“The challenges and next stage of work are to translate these policies and strategies into policy delivery that produces positive outcomes on the ground,” he says.