Er Ah Choy

Malaysia had experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth. However, this was accompanied by deterioration of the environmental quality. The Malaysian government’s commitment to environmental management is given evidence via the measures that have been implemented to curb pollution. These measures strive to achieve harmony between economic prosperity and environmental quality. The results of the Malaysian government are not the same for all industrial sectors. This study aims to understand the differences in sectoral environmental performance in Malaysia. In investigating that the study has two main objectives, an empirical one and a theoretical one:

1.  A comparison between two sectors will reveal similarities and differences in terms of the drivers for environmental performances.  This will also lead to an understanding as to why some sectors are better than the other sectors in terms of their environmental performances. Two industrial sectors are selected for this study: the palm oil sector and the metal finishing and electroplating sector
2.  In explaining environmental reforms Ecological Modernization Theory is becoming a prominent paradigm. Within the Ecological Modernization paradigm no methodology has been yet developed to quantitatively investigate its claims on successes and failures of environmental reform. The second objective is thus to develop and apply a methodology to test EMT, with a focus on political modernization and the role of economic and market actors and mechanisms.