Delegation from

Malaysia

Represented by
National Taipei University of Technology
Position Paper for the General Assembly Second Committee

The topics before the General Assembly Second Committee are: Promoting Access to Renewable and Sustainable
Energy for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development; Financing for Development; and World Commodity
Trends and Prospects. Malaysia is dedicated to collaborative multilateral approaches to ensuring protection and
promotion of human security and advancement of sustainable development.
I. Promoting Access to Renewable and Sustainable Energy for Poverty Reduction and
Sustainable Development
The Federation of Malaysia endorses the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for All 2014-2024 and the 2011 UN
Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL), which by the year 2030 seeks to achieve; universal access to modern energy
services; a twofold increase in the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and a doubling of the share of
renewable energy in the global energy mix. Malaysia believes that government policies that support gender
mainstreaming could push the SE4ALL agenda forward because policies and regulatory frameworks are decisive
factors in bringing women in greater numbers into the planning, financing, implementation, and monitoring of
renewable energy projects, especially those that are privately led. Malaysia also emphasizes the need for Member
States to follow the recommendations of the 2005 Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference to strengthen
domestic policy frameworks to promote clean energy technologies. Malaysia encourages states to develop domestic
policies of energy efficiency, utilizing regulatory and financing frameworks to accelerate the deployment of clean
low carbon-emitting technologies and calls upon Member States to provide knowledge-based advisory services for
expanding access to energy in order to fulfill their commitments to Goal 7 of the SDGs. With the ASEAN Plan of
Action for Energy Cooperation 2010-2015, ASEAN has set the goal of significantly increasing the use of renewable
energy in the region in the forms of mini & macro hydro, geothermal (including small scale/modular), ocean thermal
energy conversion (OTEC), wind and solar power, biomass, biogas, as well as waste-to-energy (WtE) and in this
regard we recommend the Renewable Energy Support Programme for ASEAN (ASEAN-RESP). The Government
of Malaysia is seeking to intensify the development of renewable energy, particularly biomass, as the fifth fuel
resource under the countrys Fuel Diversification Policy. The policy has been reinforced by fiscal incentives such as
investment tax allowances and SREP, which encourages the connection of small renewable power generation plants
to the national grid. Malaysia views the 2005 Bangkok UNDPs Regional Energy Programme for Poverty Reduction
(REP-PoRs Asia Pacific) as fundamental in its aim to identify gaps and priority needs in linking energy services
provision with poverty reduction. The Government of Malaysia has a commitment to achieve total electrification by
2020, including in the remote areas of Sabah and Sarawak, and on this premise we believe that a well thought out
renewable-energy-based rural electrification strategy not only would encourage local community involvement and
multi-stakeholder participation in rural energy sector, it would also offer diversification in energy resource mix for
the country. As a member of the Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform, Malaysia is committed to promote
public private partnerships in green energy efficiency especially through the National Renewable Energy Policy
and Action Plan (NREPAP) which defined five Strategic Thrusts for development of renewable energy consisting of
introduction of legal and regulatory framework, provision of conductive business environment, intensification of
human capital development, enhancement of renewable energy research and development, and creation of public
awareness and Policy Advocacy Programs.
II. Financing for Development
The Federation of Malaysia believes that in order to meet the trillion-dollar investment needs of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) unanimously adopted in September 2015, the global community needs to engage more
in investment of all kinds: public, and private, national and global, in both capital and capacity. Malaysia emphasizes
that the most substantial development spending happens at the national level in the form of public resources, while
the largest potential is from private sector business, finance and investment. Furthermore, Multilateral Development
Finance (MDBs) - including, but not limited to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and World Bank, with its focus on macroeconomic-criticality and its global membership will be crucial in
working directly with its member countries and help to ensure a supportive, enabling global environment for

sustainable development. Malaysia endorses the 2015 Addis Ababa Third International Conference on Financing for
Development which was set out in General Assembly resolutions 68/204 and 68/279 for its focus on assessing the
progress made in the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus and the 2008 Doha Declaration and as well as the
new global framework for financing sustainable development that aligns all financing flows and policies with
economic, social and environmental priorities. Malaysia views the New York 2013 Global Business Partnership
Forum of the Economic and Social Council, entitled Partnering for Innovative Solutions for Sustainable
Development, as pivotal on its focus on how and why partnerships are crucial for sustaining the SDGs by
harnessing the power of science, technology, innovation as well as culture within the context of the promotion of
economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. As a member of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), which has a mandate to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural
development in the region, Malaysia notes that a holistic view of growth is needed in order to emphasize policies
that promote growth, including through; economic diversification and structural transformation within a stable
macroeconomic framework; economic, gender, and financial inclusion; and climate and environmental
sustainability. Malaysia encourages south-east Asian countries to review the 2015 First Kuala Lumpur ASEAN
Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (AFMGM) and the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research
Office (AMRO) on the economic outlook, risks, opportunities and policy challenges facing the region, in an effort to
foster sustainable and inclusive growth. We agree that our macroeconomic policies should continue to address
country-specific issues, while remaining vigilant of possible spillover effects across the region. We remain steadfast
in further strengthening domestic demand, continuing structural reforms, and enhancing private sector investment .
Malaysia further observes that Official Development Assistance (ODA) will still remain an important source of
external public financing more especially for Low-Income Countries (LICs), on the basis of poverty, vulnerability,
and limited fiscal capacity; and for Middle-Income Countries (MICs), by playing an increasing role to leverage and
catalyze public and private sources of finance and should be used as effectively as possible.
III. World Commodity Trends and Prospects
The Federation of Malaysia takes note that commodities play a crucial role in international trade and development,
but lack of regulatory frameworks combined with sharp price volatility prevents commodities from being used to
their full potential in both developed and developing countries. Given the growth realignment in Chinawith
important cross-border repercussions and also Malaysias high reliance on petroleum for revenue (30% of its
revenue), Credit Suisse estimate falling oil prices could shave off up to 0.8% from gross domestic product in 2016.
In this regard we endorse the Joint Oil Data Initiative (JODI-oil) and the Kuwait thirteenth International Energy
Forum (IEF), which is focused on countering excessive price volatility in energy, markets. We reaffirm that
international trade is an engine for development and sustained economic growth. We also reaffirm that a universal,
rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system, as well as meaningful trade
liberalization, can substantially stimulate development worldwide, benefiting all countries at all stages of
development. Malaysia recalls its commitment in the Monterrey Consensus to the decisions of the World Trade
Organization to place the needs and interests of developing countries at the heart of its work programme and to
implement its recommendations. We welcome the decision at the 2005 Hong Kong Sixth WTO Ministerial
Conference, on improved market access for least developed countries as set out in the decision and its annex, and
call for its full implementation. Malaysia endorses the ongoing work of international institutions that assist
developing countries in realizing the benefits of trade liberalization, in particular the WTO, the World Bank, IMF
and the regional development banks, and encourages their continuing efforts to facilitate trade that results in
economic growth and development. In this context, we welcome the outcome of the 2008 Accra twelfth session of
the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and reaffirm the role of UNCTAD in trade
and development. Malaysia applauds the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) aims to achieve free flow of
goods in the region resulting to less trade barriers and deeper economic linkages among Member States, lower
business costs, increased trade, and a larger market and economies of scale for businesses. Through ATIGA, Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand have eliminated intra-ASEAN import duties on 99.65%
of their tariff lines. Today, focus is given to addressing non-tariff measures that could have non-tariff barrier effects
on the region's trade and business activities.