MP SPEAKS | Creating green growth and jobs post-Covid economic recovery

MP SPEAKS | The country is waiting eagerly the announcement of Budget 2021 on the government’s plan to bring us through Covid-19 crisis, to protect the social and economic wellbeing of the people.

Undeniably, the outlook is challenging. Social Security Organisation (Socso) has just reported nearly 90,000 job losses so far this year and if the trend continues, the number will hit 100,000 by the end of the year.

In addition to that, we already have 127,000 graduates still without jobs for more than six months and the number will keep rising as there are 300,000 new graduates every year. The country is in the search of new jobs and the government can play a big part to make it happen.

Income, jobs and growth used to be at the opposite ends of the scale with environmental protection. But it is no longer so as more countries around the world recognise the potential of the green industry in the post-Covid world.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretariat, at least 30 OECD and key partner countries have included green measures in their post-Covid economic recovery strategy, and rightly so. This article focuses on green measures that can be considered in Malaysia.

In order to create green jobs, the government needs to facilitate more green projects on the ground, reducing bureaucracy and catalyse them by attractive financial incentives in terms of the tax incentive, low-interest loans as well as grants...