To establish a rights-based approach for climate action, we need to amend our Federal Constitution.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) has just launched the National Climate Change Policy 2.0 today!
Following the first National Climate Change Policy from 2009, this document highlights important accelerators needed for Malaysia to build climate resilience. Most notably, the need to strengthen climate governance and institutional capacity for climate action.
However, to solidify Malaysia’s climate commitments and empower the nation to take climate action – people in the public sector, private sector and civil society, we must establish a rights-based approach for the prioritisation of this agenda against our conventional paradigm for development which is presently entrenched in our laws, policies and culture.
It is crystal clear that the pathway for doing so is to articulate the prioritisation of environmental rights in our “mother of all laws”, the Federal Constitution. We need to amend our Constitution to expressly recognise the right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM’s) has recommended for this amendment in its newly published report on the haze pollution and the right to clean air.
Currently, this right exists implicitly, interpreted by courts from Art. 5(1) of the Constitution (life and personal liberty). However, this ambiguity weakens its power. Explicit constitutional recognition would elevate its status, providing the legal foundation for prioritising environmental rights.
With a clear constitutional mandate, the federal government, state governments and local governments would be duty-bound to prioritise policies and actions that uphold this fundamental right.
Government ministries and agencies would be empowered to make decisions that prioritise the environment and the communities that depend on it. Where they neglect to do so, citizens empowered with this right would be able to hold them accountable for environmental degradation and demand action on issues like pollution and climate change. Legal challenges could be mounted against unsustainable decisions and practices, ensuring projects prioritise environmental and social well-being.
In essence, the Constitution serves as the ultimate legal foundation, shaping our legal system and ensuring that all laws are consistent with its fundamental principles. There is presently a serious gap in it: it does not set out how we should act in relation to the environment.
This gap can easily be fixed as Malaysia already has numerous legislation and policies that excellently articulate key principles of environmental stewardship.
Hence, if Malaysia is to take a rights-based approach to taking climate action and strengthening resilience against the adverse impacts of climate change, it should amend the Federal Constitution to expressly recognise one’s right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
To download the National Climate Change Policy 2.0:
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