HOUSING and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming has underscored the importance of local authorities to fully adopt the various forms of the circular economy due to the rapid urbanisation in the country.
Nga said that the time has come to act rather than just preach about concepts of reuse, recycle, reduce (3Rs), which represent the mainstay of sustainability.
Nga said the country under the Madani national unity government stewardship, has chalked up various achievements in the past year.
The appreciation of the ringgit and the record foreign direct investments, were there for all to digest but now Nga also wants similar successes to be made in sustainable development, saying his ministry to taking the lead.
"Economic progress and environmental responsibility are not opposing goals - they can and must advance together, side by side," said Nga when officiating the inaugural Green and Geopark Excellence Awards at the Langkawi International Convention Centre (LICC).
The Teluk Intam MP said that as Malaysia’s urbanisation heads toward 85–90% by 2050, the ministry plans to have more green initiatives.
"We are building 100 MADANI parks a year (109 completed last year), and surpassing the national target with 115 million trees planted."
To support renewable energy goals, Malaysia is on track to establish 18 Waste-to-Energy plants by 2050, generating up to 600MW of green energy.
The Circular Economy Blueprint 2025–2035 and the formation of the National Circular Economy Council strengthens the nation's recycling, waste segregation, and extended producer responsibility."
"We want to turn Malaysia’s vision of turning trash to cash a reality," he said.
Malaysia recently received the Special Citation Award from the Zero Waste Foundation in Turkiye, acknowledging its leadership in sustainable waste management, said Nga.
Beginning next year, new laws will introduce Community Service Orders for littering offences, reinforcing nationwide responsibility and encouraging collaboration between the various Geopark operators and local authorities especially ahead of Visit Malaysia Year.
Other measures include industrialised building systems to reduce construction waste and noise pollution, planting over 100 million tree saplings. – November 25, 2025
