COMMENT | We have eight years left to achieve what we have committed to – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The pandemic, intense US-China relationship, and Ukraine crisis – all these have disrupted many plans and created worries and doubts about attaining the sustainable development goals (SDG). Nevertheless, many have not given up imagining a better future.

We heard a lot about breaking down silos, moving away from ad hoc responses, and enabling structural and systemic changes.

In Malaysia, the federal government has declared its determination to ‘integrate the SDG into national planning and development mechanisms’.

At the subnational level, each state has also made similar attempts to adopt the framework in its development strategies and master plans.

However, we may have to admit that...