Resident Coordinator's speech: Sabah Region Sustainable Development Goals Summit 2024

Yang Berhormat Dato Hajjah Hanifah Hajar Taib, Deputy Minister of Economy

Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Luqman Bin Ahmad, Deputy Secretary General (Macro), Ministry of Economy

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hashim Bin Paijan, Chief Executive, Sabah Economic Development & Investment Authority (SEDIA)

Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Sri Mustapa Bin Mohamed, Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Headquarter of The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN), Sunway University

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Dr. Jamili Nais, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Housing Sabah

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Robert Stidi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry Sabah

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Teknologist Dr. Ramzah Bin Dambul, Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Development Studies (IDS) Sabah

Yang Berusaha Encik Che Kodir Baharum, Director, Environmental and Natural Resources Division, Ministry of Economy

Yang Berusaha Encik Asfaazam Bin Kasbani, Director, National SDG Centre, Ministry of Economy

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Frederick Kugan, Chief Conservator of Forests, Sabah Forestry Department

It is an honour and privilege to be back in beautiful Sabah, representing the United Nations in this important event which reaffirms Sabah’s commitment to achieving sustainable development while leaving no one behind.

I commend today’s Summit, the fourth in a series of high-level regional events celebrating the SDGs and taking stock of progress, potential and priorities. Today is about Sabah’s priorities and how addressing them will boost both Sabah’s and Malaysia’s advancement towards inclusive sustainable development.

I extend my deepest gratitude to our gracious host, the Sabah Development Corridor (SEDIA) and commend their remarkable contribution to building a vision for the future of Sabah in line with the SDGs.

I also extend my utmost appreciation to the State Government of Sabah and to Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji bin Haji Noor, Sabah Chief Minister, for the warm welcome extended to me and my colleagues in UN agencies, programmes and funds as we all strive to ensure Sabah’s specific and pressing needs are addressed.

We hold our relationship with both the federal and state governments in the highest regard, and today’s Summit exemplifies our shared commitment to Sabah’s and Sabahans’ prosperity.

Globally, 2023 marked the halfway point to 2030, providing us further direction and offering several acceleration pathways towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This SDG Summit, held during the 78th UN General Assembly last September, amplified the global call to get SDG progress back on track. As the world climbs back from the traumatic years of the pandemic, which disrupted progress and reversed hard-won development gains, and amidst multiple global crises, business as usual is not an option.

2023 was also a pivotal year for Malaysia, with a new leadership and government, and a firm determination to drive the country in the right direction.

This is at the core of Sabah’s transformative strategic plan, the SDC Blueprint 2.0, which covers the decade from 2021 to 2030 and aimed to “enhance the quality of life of the people by accelerating the growth of Sabah’s economy, promoting regional balance and bridging the rural-urban divide, while ensuring sustainable management of the state’s resources.”

In my scene-setting intervention, I will provide a brief overview of the global context.  I will use the SDGs as the main lens to understand where Malaysia stands within the Asia Pacific region and globally. I will then address the specific case of Sabah and how the State compares to the rest of the country, highlighting its strongest potentials and areas where progress is both needed and possible. I will conclude with a few pointers on future directions and key enablers of progress.

The SDG Summit was a watershed moment, purposefully billed by the Secretary-General as our last chance to save the SDGs.  The World is seriously off track to achieving the SDGs by 2030. The numbers tell us a sobering story of insufficient progress, inadequate policies, and the lack of decisive action. Progress has been too slow on climate and the environment, on gender equality, food security, education, digital transformation, access to basic services, employment and decent work, and several other goals.

Referring to the 2023 special edition of the SDG Progress Report, only 10 goals show any positive change whatsoever. Of the 140 targets for which data is available, only 15% are on track; almost half are off-track; and 37 per cent show stagnation or regression.

This means, on current trends, that 7% of the world population (around 600 million people) will be extremely poor in 2030.  Moreover, if no serious, decisive, collective action is taken to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, life on earth is under existential threat.  

Positive stories remain too few and uneven across the globe, within regions and also within countries and among communities. Yet, these silver linings and sporadic success stories confirm that with integrated plans and policies, localized solutions, innovative financing, and the requisite political will and institutional set-up, progress is possible.

The outcome of the mid-point SDG Summit was endorsed by consensus, and included commitments to new metrics going beyond GDP, additional finance and improved international liquidity, new partnerships with the private sector, a focus on promoting trade for development, and introducing reforms to multilateral institutions. The Political Declaration is a much-needed renewed global commitment to the SDGs.

To take national efforts to the next level, and drawing on global research and analysis, six high-impact initiatives with a strong multiplier effect across SDGs have been identified.  Focus during the remaining period until 2030 needs to be on: (1) food systems; (2) energy access and affordability; (3) digital connectivity; (4) education; (5) jobs and social protection; and (6) climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

It is very encouraging that these transitions and their game changing enablers are echoed in Ekonomi Madani, in the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review, and in the Sabah Blueprint.

In the second part of my remarks, I want to offer a summary of Malaysia’s progress against the 2015 baseline, the year when the SDGs were adopted. I do this by reporting the results of a preliminary quantitative assessment recently carried out by the United Nations in Malaysia, drawing on national data sourced from the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

We have assessed SDG targets where data is available as being on-track or off-track. We have also noted where data is missing.

Based on our initial analysis, we found that for Malaysia, 64% of SDG targets with available data are assessed as on-track and 36% as off-track. When we include those targets with missing data in the base, only 50% are on track and 28% are off-track.  For 22% (one indicator out of five) data availability and quality remain an issue.

This compares favourably to the global position I mentioned earlier– where only 15% of targets are on-track and 85% off track.  There is no doubt that Malaysia is making progress, on a trend similar to other countries approaching high-income status.

However, achieving progress on targets that are off-track (about one third) requires that we look beyond this barometer. National averages inevitably hide important nuances. Malaysia is a mix of high-income, middle-income and low-income states and districts, and progress on the SDGs can only be achieved if regional and other disparities are addressed.

No region, no state, no community should be left behind. This is the 2030 Agenda’s most famous and probably most important promise.

I will move now to the third part of my talk, and will delve a bit more into Sabah, looking at its current SDG status, using DOSM’s latest 2022 data, released just a few weeks ago. Where relevant and useful, I will refer to global trends and to Malaysia’s overall performance on certain indicators.

I will use the headings of People, Planet, Prosperity, and Peace, each encompassing a set of goals and related targets.

Starting with People, for Malaysia, the position on SDG 1 (Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere) is generally better that the regional and global position: the proportion of people living below the national poverty line stands at 6.2 percent, still above pre-pandemic level. When we zoom in on Sabah, the rate is 19.6 percent; that’s three times the national average. However, it worth noting that there has been a stronger bounce-back in Sabah since the height of the pandemic.

On hunger and food insecurity, another major global issue, the data show that this is also an issue for ASEAN and for Malaysia, surprisingly. We have noted alarming malnutrition trends, especially among children, and the situation gets more challenging in Sabah when we look at stunting and wasting among children, and anaemia among women of reproductive age (29.9 percent nationally, 36.6 percent in Sabah). Child obesity, on the other hand, is less prevalent in Sabah than other parts of the country.

Moving to health indicators, the picture in Sabah is closer to that of a lower-middle income context, with higher maternal mortality (29.8 per 100 thousand births in Sabah vs. 26 at national level), and higher under-5 mortality (12 per one thousand live births in Sabah; 8.6 in Malaysia).

Communicable diseases prevalence is also much higher (double for Tuberculosis; three folds for Hepatitis B, and four folds for Malaria). On the other hand, non-communicable diseases are significantly less prevalent compared to the national figures (significantly lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes in particular, at around half the national average). We also see fewer suicide mortality cases, fewer road-traffic injuries and fewer fatalities.

Data related to education tell us a positive story, as compulsory and free primary and secondary education for all has ensured that progress is on track. Sabah’s challenge relates mostly to infrastructure, access to modern equipment and digital facilities. The issue of access to education is highly problematic given the large number of undocumented children in Sabah.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment merit special mention with this category. SDG 5 has long been a defining feature of overall SDG progress, with the potential to accelerate or obstruct country performance. There remain major bottlenecks in Malaysia ranging from enabling women’s inclusion in the labour market to boosting their participation and representation in business and political life. In Sabah, the situation is slightly better than national averages in terms of economic and public life participation of women.

An interesting indicator is the proportion of women of reproductive age whose family planning needs are met, 45 percent higher in Sabah than the national average. At the same time, adolescent birth rate, especially among girls aged 15-19, stands at 8.6 percent, compared to the national rate of 5.8 percent.

While it is difficult to attribute the relative better performance on a few people-related indicators to policies and targeted measures in place, the overall picture under the People pillar is nevertheless challenging and translates Sabah’s persistent inability to catch up with the rest of the country.

I come now to Prosperity.  As noted, the post-Covid recovery has been patchy and uneven. New global challenges have also emerged due to trade tensions and difficult geopolitics. Yet, Malaysia’s economic performance and ability to bounce back have been remarkable, but also uneven.

Malaysia’s annual growth rate (GDP per capita) stood at 8.2 percent in 2022, vs. 3.6 in Sabah.  Another stark difference is in unemployment rate which stands at 7.5 percent in Sabah, compared to 3.5 percent nationally.

A related indicator is NEET (Youth not in education, employment or training), with a 10 percent rate nationally but 20 percent in Sabah.

The Sabah SDC Blueprint 2.0 sets clear targets which prioritize these concerns.  Key among the five strategic thrusts is ST3 on transforming human capital, a key pathway to deliver the State’s aspirations and meet key targets under Prosperity.

This will require investing in learning and training, and capitalizing on high value sectors, such as manufacturing, where Sabah is still lagging, but where the potential is enormous.

I mentioned inequalities earlier, and I want to highlight the issue of inequality also within Sabah, where the rural-urban divide is more pronounced across various indicators. If we take the indicator under SDG 7 related to household access to electricity, Sabah matches the national level, almost at 100%. However, Ranau, for example, is at 53% and Beluran at 16.6%.

Turning to the Planet-related SDGs, the global prognosis at all levels is considerably darker. The “war on nature” has impacted most of the environmental SDG targets, and climate action remains insufficient in face of catastrophic scenarios.

In Malaysia, progress on SDG 6 (Clean water & sanitation) is on track, with 95 percent of the population using safely managed drinking water services. This is another instance where the national average hides state-level disparities. For Sabah, only 80.5 percent of the population have access, and it drops to 61 percent in some rural areas.

On other Planet SDGs, progress at the national level is not on track to meet the 2030 targets. This applies to climate action and decarbonization, fish stocks (declining), quality of marine water, plastic pollution, and patterns of consumption and production.

Transformative action at scale is the only way to avert a catastrophic future. Malaysia needs bold transitions to both mitigate and adapt, especially as the impact of climate change and extreme weather conditions have far-reaching consequences, particularly on the most vulnerable.

It is important to underscore the SDC Blueprint 2.0 ST5 on Enhancing Environmental Sustainability full alignment with the SDGs. Decisive action and adequate financing are needed to translate this integrated vision into progress on SDGs 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, while focusing on protecting communities and natural resources.

I now come the Peace heading, which refers to stability, justice, the rule of law and the quality and effectiveness of policies and institutions.

In comparison to global and Asia-Pacific trends, the position of Malaysia is markedly better, particularly on targets related to violence, safety and security.  Sabah scores better on crime and various types of offence.  Yet we still see lagging areas on the pivotal SDG 16, which is anchored in human rights and good governance, and acts as an enabler of progress across all SDGs.  

Malaysia is off track on targets related, for example, to the right to a legal identity (SDG 16 Target 9). Sabah even more so.  This confirms the urgency of devising appropriate solutions to address statelessness and the plight of undocumented populations. Progress on SDG 10 Target 7 is also lagging, and well-managed migration policies would guarantee the right of migrants and refugees to protection, safe and orderly mobility, and access to services.  It will also ensure their contribution to Sabah’s economic transformation.

Nationally and at State-level, despite notable improvements, several human rights concerns remain.  Later today, 25 January, the human rights record of Malaysia will be examined by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the fourth time.

We are confident that the review will provide an opportunity for stocktaking and response, and an incentive to address the plight of hundreds of thousands of people who are at risk of being left behind and whose contribution, once enabled, can directly and positively impact short and longer-term development in Sabah and Malaysia.

Distinguished audience, Ladies and Gentlemen,

This account draws the contours of a Sabah SDG picture and points to areas for future focus and action. It is important to note that data only tell part of the story.  Aggregates at state level tend to obscure the nuanced realities experienced by different segments of the population.  Only through tailored actions and budgets can inequalities within Sabah be reduced.  Focus must shift to districts where most vulnerable populations live and where major development deficits are recorded.

The cost of inaction often exceeds the investment in inclusive solutions that would gradually capitalize on Sabah’s resources, including human capital. Raising awareness and engaging local communities in the global journey to sustainable development is key and to addressing challenges and building on the State’s comparative advantages. That’s what SDG 17 calls for: partnership, participation, inclusion.

Raising the floor in Sabah, as a state which faces exceptional challenges, and continuing to translate the ambitious Blueprint 2.0 into bold policies, will first and foremost benefit Sabah. It will most certainly also contribute to Malaysia’s attainment of the ambitious goals set forth in its national development plans and roadmaps as well as the SDGs.

I would like to conclude by re-iterating that now is the time for action. As the world is coming together for the second half of a pathbreaking and uniting global endeavour, it is important that all actors seize this momentum. 

There is an immense value in employing the SDG framework to develop national and state level plans and to guide implementation and cross-fertilization efforts. The SDGs are more than simply a measurement tool; they offer a guiding framework to respond to development needs with the right policies, at the right time and pace, and with adequate resources and partnerships.

Moreover, the SDGs hardwire fundamental considerations, chiefly environmental sustainability and inclusion, but crucially also they embody human rights commitments.

In face of competing priorities, financing pressures and uncertainties, it is critical that Sabah remain among the top priorities of the federal government, of development stakeholders, of investors, both domestic and foreign.

The UN stands ready to engage as Sabah charts its transformative pathway to an inclusive and sustainable future. We are encouraged that the State Government of Sabah is open to a broad range of UN-supported initiatives. I am pleased to announce that the Malaysia-UN SDG Trust Fund is now operational, with around one third of the first cohort of projects focused on Sabah.

The UN in Malaysia and agencies such as UNICEF, ILO, UNIDO, UN Habitat, UNEP, and UNDP have all embarked on this journey of opportunities and possibilities for the state and people of Sabah.

I thank you for your attention and allow me to close by expressing my profound appreciation to the Sabah Development Corridor, the State Government of Sabah, the Ministry of Economy Malaysia, the recently established and very dynamic National SDG Centre for joining efforts and for inviting the UN Resident Coordinator to address this esteemed audience.