Rethinking sustainability through the pandemic

I WELCOME the theme of Budget 2022, “Keluarga Malaysia, Makmur Sejahtera” – an inclusive strategy that addresses stimulating the postpandemic economy, job creation, upskilling, digital transformation and gender equality.

It is extremely encouraging to see RM20 million allocated to Cradle for the execution of MyStartup strategy. The pandemic has forced many economic activities to go online, and the continuation of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint will help further accelerate Malaysia’s technology industry.

The allocation to Cradle should go beyond seeding initial start-up capital. As the central agency for startups, Cradle will also be able to provide mentorship, access to market and facilitating the cooperation between larger corporates and early stage startups.

In addition, this initiative will be able to attract local and foreign technology companies which will create high value jobs and nurture long-term technology talent in Malaysia.

More importantly, this is not just a budget that focuses on the disruptions of the pandemic but a rather forward looking one with its commitment for Malaysia to be a carbon neutral country. For the first time, sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are exempted from import duty, excise duty and sales tax.

Malaysia has one of the highest car ownership per capita in Southeast Asia and a step towards electromobility (eMobility) is a step closer in achieving our climate targets. Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) produce lower to no emissions when driving. The exemptions proposed by the government is a crucial catalyst in shifting consumer demand from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles towards BEVs.

As awareness starts to spread, the hope is that consumers become more environmentally conscious, businesses begin pursuing sustainable goals to meet new consumer demands and finally transforming the nation to a prosperous and sustainable economy.

Despite the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, it’s a breath of fresh air to see that our political leaders are taking sustainability more seriously and paving the way for Malaysia to be one of the first nations in the region to fully embrace EVs.

For us at Carput, sustainability is not a trend, but a new business reality and we hope budget 2022 will kickstart an automotive policy that helps transition Malaysia into a zero-emission vehicle nation.

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* Eugene Tan is the founder of Carput, an automotive roadside assistance startup venturing into the world of electric vehicle charging.

** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.