KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Local Government Development (KPKT) has made Smart City a strategic initiative to address key challenges in making cities in Malaysia more productive, competitive, sustainable and livable for current and future generations.
Its minister, Nga Kor Ming, said according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the nation’s urbanisation rate has tripled over five decades from 28.4 per cent in 1970 to 75.1 per cent in 2020 and is projected to reach 85 per cent by 2040, which is stipulated under the 4th National Physical Plan (NPP-4).
“The Smart City Concept was established in the KPKT Smart City Framework in 2018, which is a key component to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in becoming a sustainable country by 2030.
“URBANICE Malaysia, an agency under the ministry, is responsible to promote the urban sustainability and resilience agenda with the aim of creating liveable cities and communities in Malaysia,” he said in his keynote address at the Asia Smart Cities Summit 2023 here today.
He noted that the implementation of Smart City initiatives must be expedited to promote a safer environment and efficient urban management practices while also stressing the importance of leveraging information technology as part of urban management solutions.
Nga also said that while the Smart City initiatives are underway in several cities, KPKT predicted that the adoption of 5G services would also accelerate, and the shared digital infrastructure would help more cities correlate data from multiple sources to generate new value and efficiencies.
“This will in turn improve government efficiency, sustainability, health and wellness, mobility, economic development, public safety and improving the quality of life of the people.
“We certainly see an exciting and bright future ahead as the development of digital economy in Malaysia is intensified to complement Smart City initiatives where improved mobility, high-value jobs, safety and security, enhanced healthy lives and wellbeing at all ages shall be enjoyed by all,” he added.-Bernama
