Minister of Finance, Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz in his keynote address delivered for the MIA (Malaysian Institute of Accountants) International Accountants Conference 2022 with the theme, Leading ESG, Charting Sustainability has outlined four major policies and measures on the nation’s ESG-premised aspirations.
In the keynote address, the minister has said that “Government is committed to strengthen sustainability-related financing, which complements the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by coordinating initiatives and programmes inculcating the elements of ESG, and which will help make Malaysia a sustainable financing hub.”
Under this strategy, MOF has tagged all programmes and projects under the development expenditure to the SDGs. In addition to that, the Ministry of Environment and Water, in collaboration with MOF and Bursa Malaysia, will implement the Voluntary Carbon Market before transitioning to the Domestic Emissions Trading Scheme. This is expected to attract low-
carbon investments, boost the credibility and international competitiveness of Malaysian products, and provide Malaysian entities with long-term financial resources. Bursa Malaysia’s recently proposed changes to the Listing Requirements are aimed at improving sustainability disclosures for listed companies across all sectors. These are also in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Application Guide for Malaysian Financial Institutions.
While, the second main strategy that “the MoF is committed to is developing the capacity of our SMEs as one of the key building blocks to achieve our ESG aspirations and our net zero-carbon goal by 2050. This is because our SME sector is a key
contributor to the economy, and employs almost 50% of our workforce”, according to the Minister.
Some of the measures to be implemented are, through the recently launched Principles for Good Governance (or PGG) to be implemented by the Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs), the government aim to catalyse the embracing of ESG principles by SMEs. Specific financing measures to support SMEs to embrace ESG principles into their operations.
While, Temgku Zafrul was quoted as saying that “the third main strategy is the establishment of the Malaysia Sustainable Development Goals Trust Fund (MySDG Fund) by the Government of Malaysia, through the MOF and in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) in Malaysia. The Government has allocated RM20 million as initial contribution to the MySDG Trust Fund for its strong commitment to integrate SDG principles into Malaysia’s national development plans and policies.”
