Opening Speech By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for Penang Institute Conference On: The Asian Challenge of Sustainable Development At G Hotel On 18.3.2013.
Let me begin by congratulating the Penang Institute for organising the 5th Penang in Asia lecture, featuring yet another prominent individual – scientist and environmentalist Dr Rajendra Pachauri. On behalf of Penang, may I bid a warm welcome to Dr Pachauri.
Thanks to Dr Pachauri’s work with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2007 with former US Vice-President Al Gore, environmental issues have become a high priority in the world today. It is beholden on all humanity to ensure that we do not squander away the wealth of our earth, especially for the sake of our future generations. As I always like to say, we do not inherit the earth but merely borrow it from our children. It is our sacred duty to return it to our children better than when we were first entrusted to it.
All over the world, sustainable development is beginning to become something of a mantra. Here in Penang, sustainable development has not only been our commitment but also our guiding principle. Penang’s vision of the future is a “Cleaner, Greener, Safer and Healthier Penang”, as only then can we be No.1 in Malaysia.
Penang is the first state in Malaysia to join global cities around the world to ban free plastic bags every day. It was a controversial risk which the state government took, not only against the plastic industry but also against a deeply entrenched local affinity for plastic bags. Though resisted at the beginning, it has now become a source of pride for Penangites as they tow their environmentally friendly shopping bags everywhere.
After the success of our “No Free Plastic Bag” campaign, we have taken the movement a step further by also banning the usage of polystyrene containers and packaging last year. Besides that, we have also introduced no-smoking zones, No Car Day on Sundays, introduced a conservation surcharge to limit water waste and managed to achieve the highest recycling rate in the country at 24% by 2012, far surpassing the country’s recycling rate target of 20% 7 years from now by 2020.
To encourage healthy lifestyles, we have hosted numerous events from triathlons to the unique 4-stage “Penang Run”, over hills and flatlands that will take place over four separate occasions with a total distance of 77km around the Penang island. At the same time, Penang also aims to be a first cycling state in Malaysia with the construction of a round-the-island bicycle lane as well as over 200 kilometres of cycling tracks across SeberangPerai.
In our drive to ensure a Cleaner, Greener, Healthier and Safer Penang, we have also made decisions against big business such as closing down the Lee Rubber factory in Paya Terubong, once the largest rubber processing facility in Malaysia, that emitted a foul smell complained by residents over 25 years.
Our efforts have of course bore some fruit. For the first time ever, Penang has now been recognised by ECA International as the most livable city in Malaysia and the 8th most livable city in Asia. Besides that, Penang was recently selected as the No. 4 top place for retirement in the world, becoming the only Asian city in the top 8.
In order to further promote our green policies and facilitate all the green initiatives in Penang, we established the Penang Green Council (PGC) in 2011. PGC seeks to enable, empower and enrich all stakeholders to practice sustainable development that protects the environment and quality of life. In Malaysia, only Penang have a set of government driven incentive schemes that provides a platform for schools, business or private sectors that are genuinely promoting sustainable living to showcase their green products, services and technologies, and house-to-house education for the communities.
In creating low carbon sustainable environment, the state government has also provided free CAT bus services around the George Town heritage enclave. We have also provided a Park & Ride service through Bridge Express Shuttle Transit (Best) buses which are free shuttle services to and fro between Seberang Perai, the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Area and Balik Pulau.
Unfortunately public transport is the sole prerogative of the federal government. Traffic congestion is a direct result of the under-investment by the Federal government in public transport and basic infrastructure as well as mind-boggling situation of having more vehicles(2.3 million) than people(1.6 million) in Penang. This has resulted in a public transport modal share of 3% state-wide and 8% in George Town.
We are thinking outside the box by offering Rapid Penang RM10 million every year to provide free bus services throughout Penang during peak hours but was rejected by the federal government. We have no choice but to build highway roads much as we like to move people and not vehicles.
On 11 Dec 2011, Penang municipal council has launched Car Free day in George Town. The state government is also working on making Penang the first bicycle state in Malaysia with a total of 200km of bicycle lanes for both the island and the mainland, out of which, 120km is on the island.
For these green efforts, in 2012, Penang has been nominated as the first small city to join The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), an environmental initiative aligned to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). These are still baby steps as many aspects of environmental policies are the prerogative of the Federal government such as renewable energy.
Therefore, we hope that we will able to formulate and implement more policies, rules and regulations that will bring greater benefit to our environment and people in Putrajaya. But of course, green environmental policies are only one side of the coin.
Sustainable development must also come along with a sustainable economy. In this, we have adopted a 3-pronged strategy by firstly encouraging the setting up of clean, high-tech, high-skilled, knowledge-based industries by MNCs and secondly, by helping to transform and develop SMEs and thirdly by setting up an SME Village to let them purchase land or rent ready-built factory buildings.
The effort to transform our SMEs have been driven through the state government’s initiatives such as the Penang SMART Centre, set up in 2009 to provide consultancy and services to SMEs in order to help them to develop their businesses, as well as the RM40 million Penang SME Centre in Bayan Lepas, which is designed to be an incubator for new SMEs as well as to move existing SMEs up the value chain. As a result, I am proud to inform you that 4 out of the 6 National SME Innovation Awards in 2012 were won by Penang SMEs.
At the same time, we also recognise that sustainable development is inextricably linked to the question of energy. Thus, as part of our effort to ensure efficient and sustainable energy use, our recently launched developed nation road map 2013-23 Penang Paradigm blueprint has proposed that all future medium and high-cost developments should seek to be GBI-certified. GBI, or the Green Building Index, is the Malaysian industry-wide rating standard for sustainability in the construction sector which focuses not only on the impact of construction against the environment, but also on the management of energy and other resourcesof the building.
Today, governments as well as the private sector must not see environmental care as an additional cost to development. Rather, it should be seen as an investment. The competition to be the best must not be at the expense of Mother Earth because if the environment is damaged, there will be no winner in the end.
Hence, Penang is firmly committed towards the global effort to conserve the environment that is best exemplified by the work of those such as Dr Pachauri and the IPCC. Penang has in recent years participated in, among others, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Climate Change Networking Committee (Sept/Oct 2009), COP 16 in Cancún, Mexico (Dec 2010), the Gwangju Initiative at the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) World Congress in 2011 in Korea and the Gwangju Cities Declaration 2011. These international initiatives help to motivate and sustain our own efforts to build a Cleaner, Greener, Safer and Healthier Penang.
Sustainable development is a primary responsibility of good governance to prepare the future for the young.
Today, we are proud to forge an invaluable bond of friendship with Dr Pachauri and the IPCC. I am confident that his lecture today will further inspire us towards the greater mission to preserve our environment. I also hope that this lecture will mark the start of a new partnership between Dr Pachauri and the IPCC with the state of Penang.
Thank you.
—-Mandarin Version —-
槟州首席部长林冠英于2013年3月18日在槟城研究院研讨会“亚洲可持续发展的挑战”上发表演讲，重点如下：
可持续发展是良好施政的首要责任，也为年轻一代的未来做准备
可持续发展是全世界都在奉行的经典。在槟州，可持续发展不只是我们的责任也是我们的指导原则。槟州订下“槟州净绿，人民安康”的宏愿，唯有如此，我们才可以成为全马第一。
槟州是全马第一个加入全世界各大城市行列，成为第一个禁用免费塑料袋的州属。当时这是非常具争议性的，我们不只得罪塑料厂商，也得罪所有难以割舍免费塑料袋的民众。虽然一开始遭反弹，现在这项措施已经成为槟城人民引以为豪的尊严，走到哪里他们都会自备购物袋。
我们成功推行“资源有价，天天减塑”后，我们进一步采取在去年禁用保丽龙餐具。我们也推广无烟区、每周日无车日、征收保护水源附加费，我们也在2012年达到24%的再循环率，超越了我国订下在2020年达致20%再循环率的目标。
在鼓励健康生活方式，我们主办无数次的活动，从三项全能赛到4个阶段的槟城跑，上山下平原，跨越全槟岛77公里。同时，槟州也放眼成为全马第一个脚车州，设立环岛脚车道以及跨越威省共200公里的脚车道。
我们也不惜对付大商家如垄尾的南益树胶厂，它曾经是马来西亚最大的树胶加工厂，当地居民因树胶厂的臭味而投诉了25年。
因为我们的努力，槟州被ECA国际认可，成为马来西亚最宜居的城市、全亚洲八大宜居城市。槟州最近也被选为全世界第四大退休后最适合居住的城市，是唯一进入八强的亚洲城市。
为了进一步推广绿色政策及推动槟城活动，我们在2011年成立槟城绿色机构。槟州绿色机构的任务是启迪、赋权及促进各界人士实践环保及提升生活素质的可持续发展。在我国，只有槟州拥有一整套政府主导的奖掖计划，让真正推动可持续生活的学校、商家或私人界展示他们的绿色产品、服务及技术，我们甚至挨家挨户进行教育活动。
在打造低碳可持续环境方面，州政府也在乔治市古迹区提供免费的CAT巴士。我们也实施停车换乘，提供免费BEST巴士让乘客往返威省、峇六拜工业区及浮罗山背。
不幸地是，公共交通直接隶属联邦政府。交通阻塞是联邦政府忽略公共交通及基本设施直接导致了，我们也难以想像为何槟城交通工具数量达230万，比人口160万还多。这导致全州的公共交通分担率为3%，而乔治市为8%。
我们试图提供槟州快捷通每年1000万令吉，在车流量高峰区提供免费巴士服务，但是这项献议被联邦政府拒绝。我们别无选择，只好兴建高速公，我们希望移动人民而不是交通工具。
2012年，槟州第一次被选为参与联合国的气候与清洁空气联盟来控制短期大气污染物（CCAC）的小城市。这些措施都只是婴儿学步，很多环保政策其实属于联邦政府管辖，比如：可再生能源。
因此，我们希望，一旦入主布城，我们可以制订更多政策、条规，为环境及人民带来更多的利益。当然，绿色政策只是一方面。
可持续发展也必须与可持续经济同步。我们已经三管齐下，我们鼓励干净、高科技、高技能及知识型工业的设立，其二，我们协助中小型企业转型，其三，我们设立中小型村，让他们购地或租借现成的工厂建筑。
州政府主动协助中小型企业转型，我们在2009年设立SMART中心，为中小型企业提供咨询及服务，协助他们发展业务，我们也在峇六拜设立价值4000万令吉槟州中小型企业中心，这是新兴中小型企业的摇篮，也协助中小型企业提升。2012年，全国共有6家中小企业获得革新奖，其中4家得主来自槟城。
我们知道可持续发展无法逃避可再生能源。在最近推介的2013-2013槟城典范蓝图中，我们建议未来所有的中价及高价发展都应该获绿色建筑指标（GBI）。 绿色建筑指标是我国建筑领导对持可持续的评级指标，它不只评估工程对环境的影响，也评估建筑物的能源管理及其它资源的管理。
今天，政府与私人界不能再把环保视为发展的附加成本。环保应该视为一项投资，在竞争成为最优秀的同时，绝不能牺牲大自然，因为一旦环境被破坏了，最终谁都是输家。
永续发展是良好施政的首要责任，也为年轻一代的未来做准备 。