CTI-CFF Stalwart Takes on New Role

Malaysia’s Prof. Dato' Dr. Nor Aieni Haji Mokhtar completed her six-year term on February 10 as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and Director of MOSTI’s National Oceanography Directorate. In this role, she anchored the National Secretariat of Malaysia’s CTI-CFF National Coordination Committee (NCC-Malaysia). She continues to be a strong supporter of CTI-CFF in an advisory capacity, remaining involved in programs supporting the CTI-CFF Expert Working Group, CTI Women Leaders Forum, and various national and regional projects.

Prof. Nor Aieni, as she is fondly known among CTI-CFF colleagues, has championed the initiative from the start. A professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) with around 30 years of academic experience, she was seconded to MOSTI in February 2008, when CTI-CFF had yet to be formalized and Malaysia was still considering joining the regional initiative. Quickly, she became a leading advocate for Malaysia’s participation in CTI-CFF.

In an interview in August last year, Prof. Nor Aieni explained her motivation: “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 government, she wanted to make the most of her time in MOSTI “to leave a footprint.”

Her legacy is clear and growing. The establishment and work of the NCC-Malaysia National Secretariat and other CTI-CFF governing bodies have contributed to improved coastal and marine governance in Malaysia, with the CTI-CFF National Plan of Action now a key performance indicator for the government. In 2012, during Malaysia’s chairmanship of the CTI-CFF Council of Ministers (COM), the National Secretariat helped facilitate 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 continues for the Secretariat’s establishment, with three more countries—Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste—taking significant steps toward its entry into force.

Although Prof. Nor Aieni is less directly involved in NCC-Malaysia’s day-to-day work, she continues to build on this legacy. Supported by her university, she provides research and consultancy support for developing a postgraduate curriculum on 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 a key supporter of the CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum, which highlights the vital role of women in marine and coastal conservation. “Threats to the Coral Triangle, and the efforts to address these threats, may impact men and women differently, and both have unique skills and perspectives to contribute,” she explained. She hopes the Forum will make CTI-CFF “a world leader in integrated, gender-sensitive conservation and development.”

Prof. Nor Aieni is closely monitoring 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 that high-level commitment from the Interim Regional Secretariat, MOSTI, Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and CTI-CFF senior officials and ministers would be crucial drivers.

When asked what keeps her passion strong after so many years, she said: “This is something very precious, what we have done. And everybody did their part. [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.”