Genesis of Malaysia's Policy Relating to Sustainability of the Built Environment

From interviews with selected experts and secondary sources, this paper charts the actions that led to Malaysia having its own green building rating tool. It began with the Institution of Architects Malaysia and the Institution of Engineers Malaysia working together in 2008 to come up with the Green Building Index (GBI) specifically suited for the Malaysian condition. The index was launched a year later, the same year that a new prime minister came into office. With greening the economy in mind, he launched a few major initiatives, one of which was the creation of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water to replace the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications and another was the launching of the National Technology Policy. In December 2009, he made the commitment on Malaysia's behalf to reduce carbon dioxide emission at the Copenhagen Summit, thereby cementing his commitment to green issues at the international level. Behind-the-scene lobbying by the private sector resulted in the government explicitly endorsing the GBI by tying GBI certification of buildings to financial incentives. This paper makes the case that the strong cooperation between the private sector and the government over the GBI represents a form of public-private partnership on aspects of collaborative spirit, complementarity of resources, private sector leadership, wide-ranging ramifications over other partnerships across time, timing and sustainability. Other countries intending to come up with their own rating tool can take stock of the Malaysian experience.