CTI-CFF Stalwart Takes on New Role

Malaysia’s Prof. Dato' Dr. Nor Aieni Haji Mokhtar completed on February 10 her six-year term as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and Director of MOSTI’s National Oceanography Directorate, in which position she anchored the National Secretariat of her country’s CTI-CFF National Coordination Committee (NCC-Malaysia). But she remains a strong and steadfast supporter of CTI-CFF in an advisory capacity, as she continues to be involved in the implementation of programs in support of the CTI-CFF expert working group, CTI Women Leaders Forum, and various national and regional projects.

Prof. Nor Aieni, as she is fondly called by friends and colleagues in the CTI-CFF circle, has been a champion for CTI-CFF from the first. A professor at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) with some 30 years of academic experience, she was seconded to MOSTI in February 2008, when CTI-CFF had yet to be formalized and discussions to join the regional initiative were still underway in Malaysia. In no time, she was taking a lead role in advocating to the Malaysian government the value of being a part of CTI-CFF.

In an interview in August last year, Prof. Nor Aieni, a true academician at heart, explained her motivation for championing CTI-CFF. “I thought it was an opportunity to capitalize on this regional initiative to create a platform for promoting the scientific capability of the region,” she said, adding that as an academician serving a limited term in executive government, she wanted to make the best use of her time in MOSTI “to leave a footprint.”

Her legacy is clear and continues to grow: The establishment and subsequent work of the NCC-Malaysia National Secretariat and other CTI-CFF governing bodies has led to overall improved coastal and marine governance in Malaysia, with the implementation of the CTI-CFF National Plan of Action now included as a key performance indicator for the national government. In 2012, when Malaysia assumed the chairmanship of the CTI-CFF Council of Ministers (COM), the National Secretariat played a key role in facilitating the endorsement by four countries of the agreement to establish a permanent Regional Secretariat for CTI-CFF. Malaysia was the first country to ratify the agreement, and momentum has picked up for the establishment of the Secretariat this May, with three more countries (Indonesia, the Philippines and Timor Leste) taking significant steps toward entry into force of the agreement.

These days, Prof. Nor Aieni may be less directly involved in NCC-Malaysia’s work, but she remains very much a part of building this legacy. Supported by her university, she is providing research and consultancy support in the development of a post-graduate curriculum for sustainability science and policies for marginal seas. “I belong to the UMT Sustainability Research Alliance and will continue to support MOSTI in pursuing a National Ocean Policy, the establishment of the National Oceanography Institute and the effective implementation of the Ocean Data Management System,” she said in a recent email interview.

She is also championing the CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum, a new initiative which recognizes the vital role of women in marine and coastal conservation. “Threats to the Coral Triangle, and the efforts to address these threats, may impact differently on men and women, and men and women have different skills and perspectives to contribute in addressing these threats,” she explained. Her hope is that the Women Leaders’ Forum will make CTI-CFF “a world leader in integrated, gender-sensitive conservation and development.”

Prof. Nor Aieni is also closely watching developments on the ratification of the CTI-CFF Secretariat agreement. “I believe that the new batch of CTI-CFF coordination teams could make it happen,” she said, noting, “High-level commitment from the Interim Regional Secretariat, MOSTI, Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and the CTI-CFF senior officials and ministers would be important drivers.”

What keeps her passion for the CTI-CFF cause so strong after so many years? “This is something very precious, what we have done. And everybody did their part,” she said during last year’s interview. “[CTI-CFF] is our baby. We adopted it, we loved it, and, now that it is five years old, we must ensure that it continues to grow and move forward.”