Good Governance and Strong Institutions in Achieving Sustainability for the Benefit of Society

Abstract

A sustainable society is based on peace and justice whereas poor governance results in chaos and deterioration of society. The given paper offers brief information about trends in sustainable development in the context of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, which highlights the importance of governance and institutional integrity as the means to achieve society stability, justice, and people trust. Institutions are the protectors of the rights of citizens; hence their openness, responsibility and capability are the key priorities of the country. The SDG 16 target is to establish effective inclusive and trustworthy institutions to fight corruption and enhance public trust by 2030. In this context, two primary aims, 16.5 (reducing corruption and bribery) and 16.6-16.7 (developing accountable, transparent, and participatory institutions) are quite applicable to the situation in Malaysia. Within the Madani governance initiative, Malaysia aims at institutionalizing clean, responsive and inclusive practices of governance at the federal, state and local levels. Comparative studies to the world governance models show that institutional reforms are the key to sustainable development. Countries with integrity and justice in their institutions will be in a better position to keep a country at peace, equitable development, and win the trust of the citizens. Finally, good governance and good institutions are not only administrative requirements but also moral requirements to the maintenance of peace, justice and prosperity in the society.