PKS and Indonesia are looking to Malaysia in reducing carbon emissions

ASEAN countries have played significant roles in engaging various global issues such as conflicts in the Middle East, the global arms race, famine, and climate change. At this moment, world leaders are convening in Glasgow, UK, to attend the COP26 Conference in their effort to reduce Carbon Gas Emissions globally.

The Prosperous Justice Party (abbr. PKS in Indonesian), which is an opposition political party in Indonesia, have strongly pushed for a more serious effort by the Indonesian Government to reduce the Greenhouse effect causing Global Warming that is approaching a disastrous level. Chairman of the Shura Council of PKS Mr. Salim Segaf Al Jufri, had cautioned that Climate Change caused not only the rising of the sea level and therefore flooding, but extreme heatwave as well. It takes no less than cooperation at the international level, whether its regional or bilateral, to combat this extreme global warming.

“One of the examples of such disasters is the heatwave sweeping over the western part of America a few months ago, which was declared as new normalcy by world agencies. This is something that we need to keep a lookout for, as eventually it will get closer to Asia and may even hit our country,” Salim adds.

Salim, who was also The Minister of Social Welfare for the 2009-2014 period, had also warned that the current level of greenhouse gas concentration had been scientifically proven to be well above the limit agreed on in the Paris Agreement, whereby all nations participating had committed to a less than 2 degrees increase in global warming.

“We need to learn and work together with other ASEAN nations, especially Malaysia as the closest geographically and ethnically. The Malaysian Government has a sound program in combating global warming and has committed to a 45 percent reduction of Carbon Emissions by the year 2030. In 2019 they even have managed to reduce the intensity of the emission down to 33 percent.”

For this once Indonesian Ambassador for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Oman, known in his immediate circle as Doctor Salim, Malaysia has quite comprehensive national Energy policies, one of which is the decision to set the price of Carbon, and taxation of Carbon, which will be rolled out as Strategic Low Carbon Development Plan for the year 2022.

“Indonesia has a long historical and psychological relationship with Malaysia, and I think in tackling important issues such as Global Warming we need to find a partner who has a serious and comprehensive roadmap in dealing with them,” said Salim.

Indonesia will hold its next General and Presidential Election in 2024, and looking at the continuously upward trend of its electability, The Prosperous Justice Party is viewed by the general public as a potential winner. This political party has a strategic long-term development platform that will include a continuous and upgrading bilateral relationship with Malaysia through future cooperation in various fields such as the environment, commerce and culture.

“If the ASEAN countries committed themselves to reduce the emission of Carbon Gas, that means we have contributed to the effort in safeguarding our whole world. Indonesia can expedite this effort to reduce Carbon emission by collaborating with Malaysia and o