KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad on Wednesday announced his resignation as minister of natural resources and environmental sustainability, just hours after his longtime ally Rafizi Ramli.
In a just over one-page long statement, he said he will be on leave starting from Thursday until July 3, with July 4 as his last day in office.
Nik Nazmi reasoning echoed that of Rafizi, citing his defeat at the recent PKR party polls.
Nik Nazmi failed to defend his PKR vice-presidency in the 12-way bout in last Friday’s party polls, losing to Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Datuk R Ramanan.
Two other allies of Rafizi, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang and Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, retained their vice-presidency positions.
Nik Nazmi said his Cabinet appointment was tied to his party position, and since he failed to retain this role in the recent party polls, he had to resign and refocus on his duties as the Member of Parliament for Setiawangsa.
Recalling his tenure in office — first as minister of natural resources, environment and climate change (December 2022 to December 2023), and then as minister of natural resources and environmental sustainability — Nik Nazmi said he had done his best to implement much-needed reforms.
These include the first phase amendments to the Environmental Quality Act 1974, as well as making Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports more transparent.
He said Malaysia was among the earliest countries to submit the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) to address the destruction of natural ecosystems.
In the energy sector, he highlighted achievements such as implementing electricity subsidy re-targeting under the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) mechanism in Peninsular Malaysia, and securing parliamentary approval for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act.
For the water sector, he introduced a much-needed tariff setting mechanism.
His ministry is also in the final stages of drafting the National Climate Change Bill, which will be presented to the Cabinet and Parliament.