Sustainability or sustainable development has been a significant agenda of the global community over the past four decades. In the United Nation’s Brundtland Commission Report published in 1987, sustainability was defined as: “Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” The Commission, a global agenda under the auspices of the United Nations, was intended to provide the best for the people, the environment and the whole planet then and in the indefinite future.
But will the global community pursuit for sustainability succeed? Indeed, going by the rate of recent events that have unfolded across the world, a major risk to sustainability looms ahead. This will definitely be exacerbated if we do not heed the tell tale-signs of danger and stubbornly persist with the norms and habits of our existing, albeit corroding, practises. From the widening sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the risk of double-dip recession in the US economy to environmental disasters, such major unresolved events have given rise to increasing economic pressures as well as political uncertainties. In turn, they have led to social upheavals and discontentment in many parts of the world.
The prevailing events are, in fact, the consequences of the world economic development that have been going on for centuries. Man’s excessiveness in pursuing his own consumption has led him to destroy not only his moral values, but also his ecological system, and the environment. So massive has the destruction been that the world we live in at present may actually pose a high risk for future generations. Our children and grandchildren may not be able to relish quality life imperative for healthy living tomorrow. Such a loss is, indeed, sad when it is our own relentless pursuit of perpetual economic development and high growth that makes us forget the rights of our posterity to live and breathe in this world.
Alas, despite the bleak scenario, there is still a remnant of hope left. The world can be saved if people and nations are ready to change their old mindset, behaviour and attitude in order to achieve the common global sustainability agenda. More importantly, man should focus on avoiding excessiveness-the root cause of all the perils of the world today.
Islam clearly warns us against excessiveness and discourages us from it in all aspects of our activities. This is because excessiveness obviously will magnify a small problem into an astronomical one. It can even become a threat to the well-being and security of the people, the entire nation and the world. The prohibition against excesses is found in the Holy Quran, whereby Allah says: ‘O you who believe! Make not unlawful the good things Allah has made lawful to you. But commit no excess, for Allah does not like those given to excess. Eat of the things which Allah has provided you, lawful and good, but fear Allah, in whom you believe.’ (Al-Nisaa’, 4: 86-88)
The above verse is distinct on the prohibition of excessiveness and provides us with guidance on current issues plaguing the world. In addition, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) also had disapproved of his companions for indulging in excessiveness including the performing of religious duties. The Prophet (Pbuh) had once said: “Beware of excessiveness in religion. (The people) before you have perished as a result of such excessiveness.” As the hadith emphasises, the Prophet (Pbuh) had also warned us that excessiveness would bring devastating results, as had befallen the people of the past. Such a warning should not be taken lightly as it serves as a reminder for us to be mindful in our lives amidst the uncertainties in the world we inhabit today.
In this regard, Malaysia’s own pursuit towards sustainability also warrants a serious reflection. Whilst the policymaker’s efforts to put sustainability as one of the three goals of the New Economic Model (NEM), we should be cautious in our approach towards achieving this noble goal. The overall objective of the NEM is for Malaysia to join the ranks of high-income economies, and this requires us to adopt a typical capitalistic economic model that is more skewed towards robust statistical benchmark, ranking and comparison, which plainly ignore the element of sustainable development. By doing so, we will again be at the whims and fancies of our old norms and habits towards excessiveness. The same old problem will play itself out as shown countless of times before. To date, the capitalism model has failed miserably and at the brink of collapse. Hence, sustainability only looks good on paper as it is merely a matter of rhetoric.
Thus, the time has now come for us to transform our mindset towards sustainability, from the perspective of capitalism to a model which is more congruent with human nature and the objective of the creation of the world. It is imperative now for our country to ensure that the wealth and well-being that we are currently enjoying do not come at the expense of future generations.
In the light of current global events, from debt issues to natural catastrophes, where the insatiable lust of capitalist excessiveness has proven its fatal and devastating impact on the human nature, we should stop now at once from continuously idolising capitalism. Let us revert to a model that will guide us to achieve sustainability. May we then be able to save ourselves from the impending wrath of our future generations.