KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will adapt to the expected changes in global environmental and sustainability policies pragmatically following Donald Trump’s inauguration as the President of the United States, said Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
He also said the government will maintain open communication with the US administration.
“Malaysia’s focus will continue to be on the multilateral process when it comes to climate and environment and we believe that’s how Malaysia works to advance our objective for sustainability,” he told reporters at the launch of Alliance Bank’s ESG 2.0 report at the SME ESG Start Symposium 2025 today.
As an open trading country, he said with its two biggest trading partners being the US and China, Malaysia will continue to keep the door open for collaboration with everyone.
“We cannot ignore the US. It is a big economy and a major power in the world, but we also have other partners, and we will talk, trade, and engage with everyone.”
On Jan 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States in his second non-consecutive term in office.
On the resumption of Malaysia-EU Free Trade Agreement (MEUFTA) negotiations announced during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent working visit to Brussels, Nik Nazmi is optimistic about the agreement’s potential benefits.
“Malaysia is a trading nation. More platforms and opportunities for trade are always positive developments.”
Nik Nazmi added the EU has a lot of requirements when it comes to sustainability, the environment, climate, emissions, forestry.
“So the fact that we are able to pursue and expand on this shows that the Malaysian economy in a way has been prepared for this.”
Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd launched the second edition of its annual ESG survey report, titled “The Path to Sustainable Impact - Sectoral Insights of Malaysian SMEs” (ESG 2.0 Report), which unveiled a sixfold increase in ESG awareness among Malaysian SMEs.
It said the awareness rate surged from 14% to 80% over the past two years, reflecting a rapidly growing recognition among SMEs of the importance of sustainability in today’s competitive business landscape.
Building on the bank’s inaugural report in 2023, the ESG 2.0 Report was commissioned in collaboration with Monash University Malaysia and Zurich Malaysia as knowledge partners; with UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei, SME Corporation Malaysia as well as INCEIF University as supporting partners.
Nik Nazmi commented this effort plays a role in strengthening Malaysia’s ESG ambitions, fostering resilience, and preparing businesses for both local and global opportunities.
He said the publication is welcomed considering Malaysia is assuming the Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2025, given how crucial SMEs are likewise to the region’s economy as well as its ESG agenda.
“It has been estimated that there are 70 million MSMEs in Asean, accounting for between 97.2%–99.9% of total establishments in Asean Member States,“ he added.
As part of its sustainability agenda, the Alliance Bank aims to achieve RM15 billion in new sustainable banking business by FY27.
To date, the bank has recorded RM13.6 billion in new sustainable banking business since FY22.
