KUCHING: Malaysia is prepared to learn about sustainable and resilient management to address issues faced by cities, especially in the global climate change challenges.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the World Cities Summit (WCS) 2024 is an ideal platform to understand issues occurring in other countries and to adapt to the use of technology for urban construction, particularly in buildings and roads.
He stressed that infrastructure development for his ministry is crucial to ensure cities in Malaysia are resilient and sustainable.
“Our objective is to learn from the experiences of other countries with the hope of seeing products or systems on display that we can implement in this country,” he said during a press conference at the World Cities Summit in Singapore yesterday (June 3).
Other than that, he pointed out that WCS also includes discussions on urban management in the face of climate change.
“The focus is put on empowering urban management towards environmental friendliness, as many cities worldwide are also grappling with climate change issues.
“Therefore, the discussions here mostly revolve around policies that offer solutions to the problems we (the world) face, which is climate change,” he said.
During a dialogue session as a panel member, Nanta also presented several policies implemented by the Malaysian government to ensure urban development in the country, especially in dealing with significant risks from floods and landslides.
Strategic infrastructure developments such as the Environment-Friendly Drainage Master Plan (PISMA) and the Disaster Risk Reduction Strategic Plan developed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall were among the initiatives he highlighted.
He also shared strategies at the national and local levels to address specific issues in creating disaster-resilient cities in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12), the 4th National Physical Plan, and the National Construction Plan 2030.
