KUCHING: Sarawak is developing sustainability roadmaps for all 27 local authorities across the state to implement the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at the local level.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian said local authorities were developing the roadmaps with Urbanice Malaysia, an agency under the federal Housing and Local Government Ministry.
"We want to see sustainability roadmaps for city, municipal and district council levels.
"All this will be localised because we cannot expect to have the same SDG goals as London, Beijing or Washington. We are all different," he said on Friday (June 20).
Dr Sim was speaking to reporters after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Urbanice and three local councils - Padawan Municipal Council, Kota Samarahan Municipal Council and Sarikei District Council - for the preparation of their SDG voluntary local review report.
He said the sustainability roadmaps would help set the standard for local authorities to compare their progress with other cities.
This, Dr Sim said, would help identify any gaps that need addressing or areas for improvement.
He added that the voluntary local review by the three councils would allow them to look at their gaps in implementing the SDG.
"The gaps can be due to local challenges in certain areas of Sarawak, such as places where we are still reaching out to supply electricity and clean water.
"We're also looking at parameters such as the difference between urban and rural poverty," he said.
Urbanice chief executive officer Norliza Hashim said Sarawak had achieved 58% progress in localising the SDG, above the national average of 43%.
"This is the overall achievement of all the local authorities in Sarawak, based on data we got from the Statistics Department, the state government and the local authorities themselves," she said.
Norliza also said Sarawak was the first state to evaluate the localisation of SDGs by all its local authorities simultaneously.
"This is a good commitment. Then you can take action at the state level, not just at the local level, because you see the results as a whole," she said.
