IN his Budget 2024 speech on Oct 13, 2023, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said it is highly inappropriate for institutions to sell strategic assets to make settlements. It is obvious – sacrificing assets which generate income in the long term is a poor way to solve short-term issues. In the same vein, we must consider how we are managing the fundamental assets which Malaysia’s economy, and in fact our society and very lives depend on – our natural capital.
A calculation provided by the international research organisation Global Footprint Network shows that we are using our resources at an alarmingly fast rate. It is only a matter of time until already degraded ecosystems begin to collapse.