Meet latest political aspirant - Green Party of Malaysia

If Malaysia's Azlan Adnan could have his way, he would like to register a new political party that solely focuses on the environment and its sustainability.

The Green Party of Malayisa, as it is called, has already taken off although it maintains a low profile. It was founded two years ago by the 53-year-old Azlan, an entrepreneur-activist and single father to two grown children,

What drove Azlan to start the party, was, as he said, to give political clout to environmentalism in Malaysia and push the green agenda into the nation's political consciousness.

“For a long time, the human species has adapted to the world around it, to the natural environment, but once man received a certain amount of knowledge… and gained technology, man was able to change the environment to suit himself. We have come to the point we have changed the natural environment so much, and in such negative manner, that it is no longer sustainable, or even natural, for that matter. We've changed it for short term gain in such a way that we jeopardize the long term future of the planet. Not just the future of wildlife and exotic species but of man himself. This is our only planet, and we have to take care of it. If you want a place not just for yourself, but your future generations as well, that is livable, then you have to do something now,” said Azlan.

Collective future - not just of humans but also plants and animals

Presently, Azlan rely on the Internet and the Social Media Network to promote his party. The Green Party on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/AzlanGreenParty) had garnered over 800 members. and there are also more than 70 videos on environmental and social justice issues facing Malaysians uploaded at the party’s youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenPartyofMalaysia).

He believes that the Green Party would appeal to anyone who is concerned about the environment and the future – what he termed ‘our collective future’, meaning a future not for human beings only but for animals and plants as well. According to him, although there is a lot of good work done by environmental NGOs, their scope is limited. Therefores, he hope to take the environmental agenda into the political arena by having it registered as a political party.

To register the party, he would need 7 active members to be in the pro-tem committee in at least seven states.

“Since it is difficult to register the party, I want to make sure I over-comply when I do register the party, i.e. have more than 7 pro-tem committee members in more than 7 states and make sure that the party is sustainable before registering.” Azlan said.

“I'm also planning capacity-building and fund-raising training for party pro-tem members such as Citizen Empowerment School. In the meantime, I shall continue producing videos to help the public understand environmental issues and how it directly impacts them.”

Being responsible for God's creations and not just profits

Presently, there are a few strong supporters who have committed themselves to be in Adnan's pro-tem committee. Among them is retired accountant, Abdul Rahman Said Ali. The 63-year-old is the head of the Green Party of Malaysia's Perak branch pro-tem chairman.

“I wish to join this party to emphasise the significance and importance of sustainable environment for our future generation. I particularly want to restructure the political process of choosing the candidate because presently it is a top down process where the party hierarchy adopts a patronage system in which nepotism and favoritism prevails at the expense of real democracy,” said Abdul Rahman.

Professor Jimmy Lim, Green Party of Malaysia, Penang branch pro-tem chairman, takes a more radical attitude when he lamented the deterioration of sustainability and humanity.

"In the relentless pursuit of profit, businesses and governments make a headlong rush for development. Many times this is at the detriment to the environment. The Green Party of Malaysia is here to ensure that only sustainable development takes place so that we can all live healthy, happy and fulfilling lives," Lim elaborated.

Another supporter, Sou Jin Hou, expressed his interest in the Green Party of Malaysia because he felt that there is something fundamentally wrong with the global economic system. He was disappointed that the government seems to prioritize GDP growth above environmental sustainability

“It is our responsibility as caretakers of God's creation to stop the plundering of the environment in the name of private profit. By supporting the Green Party, I hope to avert the impending environmental disaster predicted by climate scientists that will occur if we continue on this path of mindless growth. In addition to that, I hope we can change the economic system so that the wealth that God so willingly bestowed upon mankind is not concentrated only on the hands of the few,” said Sou.

He continued. “I hope to avert the impending environmental disaster predicted by climate scientists that will occur if we continue on this path of mindless growth. In addition to that, I hope we can change the economic system so that the wealth that God so willingly bestowed upon mankind is not concentrated only on the hands of the few.”

More than race and religion

Taking the cue from Azlan, who wanted to stress that the Green Party will be a non-race based party, Ryan Albrey, another strong supporter, said that was precisely the reason he was interested in the Green Party. He hope that one day Malaysians will adopt a style of politics that is not just about race or religion.

“Ordinary Malaysians need to stop fighting amongst themselves worrying about who has more and who has less and start worrying about the fact that while all that fighting is going on, rich foreigners and the very richest 1% of Malaysians are destroying the environment to get even richer. I hope that we can attract new members to the party by setting a good example; projecting to the public that we care about important environmental issues and not petty race or personal politics,” said Ryan.

A new threshold of awareness

Azlan was not discouraged when some political analysts offered the view that Malaysians are not environmentally conscious and therefore not ready for a Green Party. He pointed out that on 26 February 2012, close to 20,000 environmentally-conscious Malaysians of all races attended the Himpunan Hijau 2.0 rally to protest against the Lynas rare earth processing plant in Pahang.

“It is obvious that Malaysia has entered a new stage in its environmental awareness and that environmental issues have entered the political consciousness.” said Azlan.

Therefore, this had encouraged Azlan to soldier on to promote his party, especially through concrete actions. He had done a number of interviews in the various media and also interviewed once on a radio station. He also gave talks on the topic of ‘Our Collective Future’ in different states.

“We will make plans with the core membership as the ideas and feedback will have to come from the membership. We will run campaigns that our members are passionate about, about things close to their heart affecting their backyard. The press can help us disseminate information about these environmental issues and how they pose a danger to our health and quality of life. We will continue with these public education efforts.”

Malaysia Chronicle