Question

i) Discuss the national plans and policies of ASEAN member states relevant to the growth of Renewable Energy towards regional sustainable development. How would Malaysia play a role in achieving this? You are allowed to include case studies as proof of existing schemes.

ii) Identify the economic enablers to propel Renewable Energy growth at each ASEAN member states.

Answer 1

BRAC (formally Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) is an international development organization based in Bangladesh. Established in 1972 as a small-scale relief and rehabilitation project to help returning war refugees, today BRAC is the largest NGO in the world in terms of number of employees. BRAC employs over 100,000 people, roughly 70% of whom are women. The organization’s activities involve economic development, education, public health, and gender equality. BRAC’s Economic Development Programme includes the use of microcredit. It provides collateral-free loans to mostly poor, landless, rural women, enabling them to generate income and improve their standards of living. Reaching nearly 4 million borrowers, BRAC has provided loans to those who, due to extreme poverty, have been otherwise unable to secure other financial sources. BRAC’s microcredit program has funded over US $1.9 billion in loans with 95% of its borrowers being women. According to BRAC, the repayment rate is over 98%.44,45

CARE International

Founded in 1945 to provide relief to World War II survivors, CARE is committed to promoting social change and ending global poverty. CARE currently works in 95 countries around the world. A leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, CARE’s philosophy is that women are essential in regard to helping families and communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity, and protect natural resources. CARE also provides emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters.46

Human Rights Watch

The largest human rights organization based in the United States, Human Rights Watch conducts fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses around the world. Founded in 1978 as Helsinki Watch to monitor human rights in the former Soviet Union, Human Rights Watch publishes numerous books and reports every year, generating extensive coverage in local and international media. Human Rights Watch also meets with government officials to urge changes in policy and practice. In extreme circumstances, Human Rights Watch presses for the withdrawal of military and economic support from governments that egregiously violate the rights of their people.47