IT’S hard to believe that we are already well into the second half of 2024, and that preparations are underway for 2025 – an important year for Malaysia as we take the reins of Asean.
It’s also a defining year for the leadership the country is showing on the global stage, including on planetary health. We’ll launch the world’s first National Planetary Health Action Plan, engage with the implementation of the global Planetary Health Roadmap, and demonstrate the importance of addressing the health of the planet as the only way to protect the health of us, the people, and our economies.
Nowhere is the significance of how we move forward more important than in how and where our government spends our taxes. As formulation of the 2025 national budget starts, it’s time to move beyond the adoption of trendy buzzwords and superficial solutions.
In its pre-budget statement the Finance Ministry recently outlined a vision for systemic and behavioural changes, along with some key enablers designed to support long-term transformation. However, key parts of the statement demonstrate a gap between aspiration and action, raising critical questions about the budget’s direction and priorities.
One of the significant inclusions in the statement is the development of a Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage Act. While the intention behind this initiative is commendable, the devil will be in the details.
Heavy lobbying from industry has raised concerns about the thoroughness of the Act’s implementation strategy, and there is a sense that the direction set could become yet another high-cost project with ambiguous outcomes, diverting precious resources from more impactful but difficult to implement activities.
The Finance Ministry has identified 18 focus areas for the 2025 budget that are predominantly sectoral. Cross-cutting, all-of-society challenges around biodiversity, food security, and climate change mitigation and adaptation are missing. The absence of these critical topics is alarming, particularly as Malaysia prepares to assume the chairmanship of Asean in 2025.
The apparent lack of ambition and political will in addressing these global priorities could undermine Malaysia’s leadership role in the region, and compromise its stated commitment to sustainable development and planetary health.
That said, the concept of planetary health, which encompasses the health of human civilisation and the state of the natural systems on which it depends, aligns seamlessly with the three thrusts of the Madani Economy framework outlined for Budget 2025.
From a planetary health perspective, the first thrust, “raise the ceiling”, emphasises investing in forward-looking, sustainable industries such as renewables, ecotourism, and tech and R&D for the bioeconomy. These investments can significantly reduce Malaysia’s carbon footprint and reinforce our position as a leader in sustainable development, especially within the Asean context.
The second thrust, “raise the floor”, to improve people’s quality of life, naturally necessitates investments in preventive healthcare, including environmental health services.
We cannot talk about quality of life without talking about health and wellbeing, and we cannot talk about wellbeing without talking about shifting behaviours in society towards improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare costs. This holistic approach to health is vital in creating a healthier, more resilient population.
The third thrust, which involves good governance and public sector reform, can build upon health not only as a platform for garnering public support and enhancing the national policy landscape, but as the common thread of interest that ties us all together. However, achieving this requires substantial investment in data and monitoring systems; areas where Malaysia currently falls short.
Effective governance and coordinated policies are essential for the kind of systems-level changes we need, and which are referenced in the draft of the National Planetary Health Action Plan. Financing this coordination must be a part of the budgeting exercise. Coordination isn’t cost-neutral.
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad aptly stated at the ministry’s consultative dialogue last week that “in terms of getting political support, planetary health is crucial and allows us to view things more holistically”. His view underscores the necessity of integrating planetary health into national policies and budget priorities.
The Global Planetary Health Roadmap and Action Plan – adopted at the Planetary Health Summit that Sunway University hosted in April this year – offers valuable guidance on developing coordinated strategies that effectively engage the public. These frameworks, and our emerging National Planetary Health Action Plan, can help to craft policies that are compelling and understandable, facilitating greater public involvement and support.
We have time to recalibrate the approach to Budget 2025. The consultation period for our voices to be heard is still going on. This window provides an opportunity to address the current gaps and integrate critical priorities, such as biodiversity and climate change. We need to seize this moment and align the budget with Malaysia’s long-term vision.
For Budget 2025, it would be strategic to designate planetary health as a key priority, building on references made in the 2022 budget, the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025), and the upcoming launch of the National Planetary Health Action Plan.
Malaysia’s 2025 budget presents a unique opportunity to start working on fostering the systemic and behavioural shifts we need to make. And here we can all participate in the consultation process and advocate for the inclusion of planetary health as a strategic priority (see green box for link to survey).
The 2025 budget should not only address immediate economic concerns but also pave the way for a sustainable and prosperous future. The time to act is now, and collective effort is paramount to realising this vision.
Dr Jemilah Mahmood, a physician and experienced crisis leader, is the executive director of the Centre for Planetary Health at Sunway University. She is the founder of Mercy Malaysia and has served in leadership roles internationally with the United Nations and Red Cross for the last decade. She writes on Planetary Health Matters once a month in Ecowatch. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.