Malaysia.
BLUE READY
Implementation Ready and Building Momentum
BLUE INNOVATOR
Implementation Ready and Accelerating Progress
National Snapshot.
Malaysia is currently finalising the Malaysia Blue Economy Blueprint (MBEB) to promote sustainable maritime practices and foster economic growth.
The blueprint aims to align policies and investments across sectors, leveraging Malaysia’s strengths in port and shipping, fisheries, and aquaculture, while also focusing on emerging fields like ocean-based renewable energy.
Malaysia has been categorised a Blue Ready profile, demonstrating strong implementation progress and high capacity. The country is building momentum through strategic initiatives and institutional alignment, positioning itself for effective operationalisation and scalable impact.
Implementation Progress
Implementation Progress
Building momentum
Malaysia is emerging as a regional leader in the blue economy, demonstrating strong commitment and strategic foresight, particularly in the lead-up to its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025. The country is in the final stages of developing the Malaysia Blue Economy Blueprint (MBEB), a comprehensive framework designed to align policies, strategies, and investments across ocean and coastal sectors.
The State of Sabah has been designated as a pioneering hub for piloting national blue economy development, reflecting Malaysia’s inclusive and place-based approach. The MBEB promotes sustainable maritime practices, supports economic growth through responsible marine resource management, and strengthens resilience in coastal communities.
Malaysia’s blue economy strategy is firmly embedded in national planning, with its recognition in both the 12th and 13th Malaysia Plans, underscoring the government’s long-term commitment to sustainable ocean development. The blueprint leverages Malaysia’s established strengths in port and shipping, fisheries, and aquaculture, while also embracing emerging sectors such as ocean-based renewable energy.
This multifaceted approach is designed to create synergies that support both economic viability and environmental sustainability. Malaysia has made notable progress in physical capital, particularly in enhancing maritime transport infrastructure, connectivity, and productivity. Social and natural capital are also progressing, supported by integrated blue economy strategies and growing marine conservation efforts.
Explore how Malaysia is positioned for each of the
Blue Economy Capitals.
Financial
Capital.
Financial Capital.
Malaysia is actively laying the groundwork for innovative and sustainable blue finance mechanisms to support its growing blue economy ambitions. While a dedicated national blue finance framework has yet to be issued, promising avenues are being explored. Notably, Teraju and Maybank are emerging as key enablers of future financing solutions.
The Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju), under the Ministry of Economy, plays a pivotal role in advancing inclusive economic development. Through strategic initiatives and innovative programs, Teraju enhances Bumiputera participation in key industries while promoting a sustainable and equitable growth model.
From the private sector, Maybank’s Blue Sukuk financing is poised to support the Sabah Blue Economy initiative, particularly in areas such as blue carbon credit projects—including mangrove, seagrass, and coral reef restoration and conservation—as well as OTEC, green shipping, mariculture, and community-based river conservation practices like Tagal (Abdullah, 2025).
To strengthen planning and evidence-based decision-making, Malaysia has undertaken the Ocean Accounts Malaysia pilot study, focusing on the sustainability of fisheries in the Straits of Malacca (UN ESCAP). This collaborative effort—led by statisticians, scientists, policymakers, and the University of Malaya team—revealed important correlations between fish landings and ocean temperature changes, as well as shifting relationships with chlorophyll levels. These insights have informed the integration of ocean accounting into the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021–2025), supporting the development of a green economic model using Green Economy Indicators and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (GOAP, 2025).
Malaysia is also advancing blue carbon monetisation through initiatives like the Rajang Delta Blue Carbon Project, which aims to enhance biodiversity, protect endangered species, and restore mangrove ecosystems (EcoSecurities, 2025). Complementing this, PETRONAS, in partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, has launched the Blue Carbon Collective—a five-year South-South research initiative that deepens scientific understanding of mangrove carbon sequestration. This collaboration, involving Universiti Putra Malaysia and the University of São Paulo, supports mangrove restoration in Johor through Yayasan PETRONAS’ One Million Trees Programme, with 100,000 mangrove trees planned for planting (Petronas, 2025).
Physical
Capital.
Physical Capital.
Malaysia continues to strengthen its position as a maritime leader in ASEAN, supported by a robust network of seven major Federal ports—Port Klang, Johor Port, Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Kuantan Port, Penang Port, Bintulu Port, and Kemaman Port. According to the Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI), Malaysia ranks just behind Singapore, leading shipping connectivity among ASEAN countries. Notably, Port Klang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas are among the top ten busiest ports in the region, ranked second and sixth respectively (UNCTAD, 2024).
Malaysia is also expanding its strategic port development, particularly in the eastern peninsula and Borneo, aligning with its designation of Sabah as the leading State for blue economy development. Ports in Sabah and Sarawak fall under the jurisdiction of their respective State Governments, enabling tailored approaches to regional growth.
Sabah Ports Sdn. Bhd. (SPSB) manages eight strategic ports across Sabah’s east and west coasts, offering comprehensive berthing, handling, and cargo services. In a major step forward, DP World Sabah Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between SPSB and DP World, assumed management of Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP) in September 2024, reinforcing its role as a key regional hub within the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area).
Malaysia is actively working towards improving the environmental impact of shipping and ports, including working towards establishing themselves as a leader in green bunkering services within the region.
Human
Capital.
Human Capital.
Malaysia’s strong performance in human development provides a solid foundation for advancing sustainable ocean development. With a Human Development Index (HDI) value of 0.819 in 2023, the country ranks 67th out of 193 countries and territories, placing it in the ‘Very High Human Development’ category (UNDP, 2025).
However, despite this achievement, Malaysia faces a critical shortage in maritime workforce capacity, particularly in areas requiring technical expertise and data-driven skills in ocean governance and management (Azam et al., 2023). This gap presents a strategic opportunity for Malaysia to invest in education, training, and capacity development to strengthen its human capital in support of the blue economy.
Without a sufficiently skilled and qualified maritime workforce, Malaysia risks delays in unlocking its full blue economy potential, especially in technology-intensive sectors such as ports, shipping, shipbuilding and repair, and ocean renewable energy (Kumaran et al., 2025). Addressing this challenge through targeted human capital development will be essential to ensure Malaysia’s continued progress and leadership in sustainable ocean initiatives.
Social
Capital.
Social Capital.
Malaysia is taking important steps toward integrated ocean governance, with promising initiatives underway to strengthen national coordination and strategic planning. While the country has yet to establish a dedicated national ocean policy or a central institution for ocean governance, these foundational gaps are increasingly being addressed through emerging frameworks.
The development of the Malaysia Blue Economy Blueprint (MBEB) represents a pivotal opportunity to catalyze integration across national and sub-national levels. This initiative is expected to foster regulatory coherence, promote sustainable use of marine spaces, and align ocean-related policies and investments.
In support of this direction, Malaysia has initiated the implementation of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) as a strategic governance tool. MSP provides a structured approach to managing marine resources and space, particularly in advancing the blue economy agenda (MSPGlobal, 2022; Bernama, 2024). These efforts signal Malaysia’s growing commitment to building a more coordinated, inclusive, and sustainable ocean governance framework
Natural
Capital.
Natural Capital.
Malaysia’s Ocean Health Index score stands at 60 out of 100, below the global average of 69, placing the country 192 out of 220 regions. This score highlights the urgency for Malaysia to strengthen restorative and protective measures to safeguard marine environmental sustainability and halt ongoing degradation, habitat loss, and biodiversity decline.
In response, Malaysia has launched a series of strategic marine conservation initiatives. These include the designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), coral reef restoration programs, and a wide range of collaborative conservation efforts involving government agencies, NGOs, research institutions, and scientific experts. Currently, 4.84% of Malaysia’s marine and coastal areas, equivalent to 25,061 km² out of a total 517,606 km², are under protection.
To enhance community involvement, the Department of Fisheries launched the Reef Care Smart Partnership program in 2019. This initiative formally engages local communities in marine conservation, beginning with the Tioman Marine Conservation Group (TMCG). Inspired by its success, Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) replicated the model in six additional locations: Redang, Mabul, Kulapuan, Larapan, Selakan, and Mersing. These groups, collectively known as Community Marine Conservation Groups (CMCGs), play a vital role in grassroots marine stewardship.
RCM’s core programs include EcoAction, which trains divers for reef monitoring, scientific research on reef health and resilience, advocacy for sustainable practices such as Green Fins, and community-based marine area management to ensure long-term conservation success.
Additional marine conservation efforts are being led by not-for-profit organizations in collaboration with government, industry, and local communities. The Marine Research Foundation (MRF) focuses on understanding marine ecosystems and conserving biodiversity through research, education, and partnerships. Its projects include reducing bycatch in shrimp fisheries, rehabilitating endangered sea turtles, and developing MPAs in the Sulu-Sulawesi region.
LUSH Malaysia has also intensified its conservation efforts, beginning the year with mangrove planting at Kubang Badak Mangrove Reserve and a beach clean-up at Teluk Apau in Langkawi.
Together, these initiatives reflect Malaysia’s growing commitment to restoring coastal resilience and protecting marine biodiversity, laying the groundwork for a healthier and more sustainable ocean future
Implementation Capacity
Implementation Capacity
implementation ready
Malaysia is well-positioned to lead in the blue economy, with abundant marine resources, a strategic geographical location, and strong institutional capacity.
Ranked highly for ease of doing business and supported by robust enabling conditions, Malaysia combines natural advantages with effective governance and economic stability.
These strengths provide a solid platform for innovation and sustainable growth, making Malaysia a key driver of regional blue economy development.
