KUALA LUMPUR: Social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye has called for the setting up of a government-funded institute to serve the needs for better urban management, training and governance in Malaysian cities and towns as a result of rapid urbanisation.
He said the urbanisation was “one of the major challenges of our time as well as one of the most complex tasks of our societies”.
“With the rapid urbanisation now taking place in the country, the trend is towards urban development,” he said in a statement today.
Recently, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research chairman Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob said that there are about 150 local governments in the country, yet there was no strong central training institute to cater for their manpower requirements to meet their diverse functions of urban management.
Lee said the concentration of development and human activities in cities and towns had enormous implications for the urban population who find the urban environment physically, psychologically and socially taxing.
“Cities, as we know them today, are already dramatically changing. Our living environments are reshaping the way we live. This new ‘urban age’ presents a unique opportunity for us to remake and reinvent our cities. How well we plan and design our living environments will matter,” he said.
Lee said the emergence of a host of complex urban problems had posed new challenges for urban administrators to search for new ways to make urban areas better-living cities.
“Urban issues relating to the process of globalisation, environment problems, urban poverty, urban sustainability, the issue of urban governance and how to improve the quality of urban life are among the many issues that need to be addressed effectively.
“With such complex issues arising from urbanisation, it is time for the government to set up an Institute for Urban Governance which can function as a national resource and training centre for urban governance and development.
“It also helps to facilitate research activities, provide support to academicians and individuals to undertake research and provide consultancy on urban issues management,” he added.
He also said the institute can also provide support and policy advice to the government in urban governance, development, training and management.
“The Institute which can be established with the expertise from institutions of higher learning, research organisations and government agencies will conduct academic programmes in urban planning for local government officials and others to better manage our cities and towns.
“Urbanisation should lead to community spirit building. Where new urban centres are built, pro-active efforts must be taken to build a sense of community and belonging among the multi-ethnic residents which will be beneficial to our multiracial country in terms of generating goodwill, togetherness and unity,” he said. – Bernama
