The 20th MSJCE WG Meeting was held from September 4 to 6, 2024, in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, with Malaysia hosting. The meeting was co-chaired by YBhg. Dato’ Wan Abdul Latiff bin Wan Jaffar, Director General of Environment, Malaysia, and Mr. Wong Kang Jet, Chief Executive Officer, National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore.

The meeting this time was attended by delegations from the Department of the Environment (DOE), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES), and other agencies including Attorney General’s Chambers, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security Council, Malaysia Marine Department, Johor Port Authority, Department of Irrigation and Drainage, National Hydrographic Centre, Malaysian Space Agency, Department of Fisheries Malaysia, Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia, Earth Observation Centre, Institute of Climate Change, and Johor State Economic Planning Division. The Singapore delegation comprises the NEA, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Ministry of National Development, Maritime and Port Authority, Public Utilities Board, Housing and Development Board, National Parks Board, and Jurong Town Council.

Among the matters that have been discussed and coordinated in this meeting are the country position of both countries regarding environmental issues involving the Strait of Johor as well as increasing capacity building cooperation through the training institute of the two countries, namely the Environment Institute of Malaysia (EiMAS) and the Singapore Environment Institute (SEI).

Both countries had the opportunity to visit the Aquarium and Marine Museum to see the inspiration of conservation in the sea and the Azman Hashim Gallery at Universiti Malaysia Sabah to see designs with the concept of ‘popular design and do-able’ and ‘typical of Sabah’. In addition, all delegations also had the opportunity to learn about the richness and ethnic diversity of Sabah through a visit to the Mari-Mari Cultural Village.