We expound the importance of the environment, social and governance (ESG) framework and draft strategic plans to impress investors.
But the proof of ESG is not on powerpoint slides. It is on our streets, at schools, in kampungs and low-cost flats, where people get left behind or are never counted.
In that context, applying ESG scrutiny to race relations, education, housing, and jobs is just our “ESG agenda”, not reform.
ESG beyond boardroom
An assessment by the United Nations has noted that 64% of Malaysia’s sustainable development goals under its SDG Roadmap Phase II are on track.
But while this is significantly higher than the global average of just 15%, there still are gaps that must be closed.
For instance, progress remains uneven at state level. While Labuan, Negeri Sembilan, and Terengganu are pulling ahead, Sabah and Kelantan have fallen behind, weighed down by poverty, under-nutrition, education gaps and weak economies.
In fact, poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, and environmental conservation have been singled out as major challenges.
We cannot continue to focus on the environment over social and governance requirements. An ESG agenda that sidesteps justice and equality is not sustainability. It is self-deception.
Race relations: our ESG blind spot
Malaysia portrays itself as multiracial and multireligious. But the data shows that not all are equal.
From 2016 to 2022, income inequality rose. In 2022, the top 1% accounted for 11.4% of national income while the top 10% made 35% of the same income. However, the middle 40% saw a decline in their share.
Ethnic gaps are also stark. Chinese Malaysians constitute 23% of the population but they account for 56.5% of the top 1% of earners. Bumiputeras, who comprise 70% of the population, make up 70% of the bottom half.
Lived experience is equally telling. The state of discrimination survey by Architects of Diversity found that 64% of Malaysians reported experiencing discrimination in the past 12 months. About 32% were were based on ethnicity, 38% on socio-economic status and 33% on age. Gen Zs face twice as much ethnic discrimination than older people.
Through an ESG lens, this is a blazing red flag for SDG10 (reduced inequalities) and SDG16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).
A country that normalises quiet discrimination in hiring, promotion, housing and public services is failing the social and governance pillars of ESG. Parliament cannot speak meaningfully about “social cohesion” while ignoring hard data on who remains trapped at the bottom and who repeatedly hits invisible ceilings.
Education: access without equity
On paper, Malaysia looks strong. Almost every child is in primary school. Secondary enrolment is above 90%. Preschool participation is high. Adult literacy hovers around 94.6%. These are real SDG4 wins.
But the World Bank rips away the comfort. Its “Bending Bamboo Shoots” report shows a hard truth: about 24% of children walking into Year One lack basic school-readiness skills, especially those from lower income families. They start behind, and many never catch up.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that by age 15, Malaysian students are still scoring below the OECD average in reading, math and science, having fallen behind over the last decade.
In 2022, four in 10 students reached at least proficiency level in math, far below that achieved in richer countries. Socio-economically advantaged students outperformed disadvantaged ones by more than 80 Pisa points.
For our MPs, the question is no longer “Are our children in school?” but “Whose children are learning — and whose are being quietly left behind?”
The curse of geography
In Sabah and Kelantan, families struggle with poverty, poor nutrition, weak schools and few quality jobs. All the “no poverty, zero hunger, quality education and decent work” goals collide there.
Here, discrimination is not just about race. Class and age also determine who gets called for job interviews, who gets loans and who gets decent housing.
An ESG-literate parliament would treat housing costs, wage stagnation, fair hiring and social protection as core national KPIs — not afterthoughts.
Measure effort to ‘leave no one behind’
Malaysia scores well on the easy parts: cutting extreme poverty, expanding basic services like water supply. But on inequality, inclusion, climate and labour, we underperform for a country at our income level.
Nearly half of SDG targets with trend data are off track. Over a third have stalled or gone backwards. Retaining subsidies for fossil fuels slows the shift to clean energy and undermine our own climate promises. This is a cautionary note.
The pattern is stark. We build systems, yet leave invisible barriers intact, barriers that block minorities by ethnicity, religion, region, gender or disability from fully benefiting.
For policymakers, this is the real ESG exam. Are we measuring how safe minorities feel? How often they face discrimination in jobs or services?
How rarely they sit at decision-making tables? If the answer is no, then our ESG talk is incomplete, and “leave no one behind” is just a slogan, not a standard.
Can our Parliament act?
ESG began as the language of investors. In Malaysia, it must become the language of justice. The numbers are already telling Parliament a clear story: yes, there is progress, but there also are communities, states and generations that have fallen by the wayside.
The real ESG question for lawmakers is no longer “What are our companies doing?” but “What kind of nation are we choosing to be?”
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect reflect those of FMT.