Leading the way: Ahmad Phesal (second from right) walking in during the opening of the FIABCI 66th World Real Estate Congress at One World Hotel.
WILL urbanisation bring peril or prosperity? One man who saw Malaysia rise out of the ashes of the Japanese Occupation and the Malayan Emergency sums it up.
“I cannot overemphasise, and I’ll repeat and I’ll repeat and I’ll repeat, the importance of education for our youngsters. Training and education play a very important part in creating an urbanised society,” said Maha Sinnathamby.
Maha grew up in a house that had no electricity or tap water in Rantau. Today he is the chairman and founder of Springfield Land Corporation, a planned city in Queensland, Australia.
“In the face of rapid development, we must not forget to cherish our greatest treasure — human capital.
“This is why planning has to be done very carefully so that communities are integrated. They must have common areas to mix, react and add value to each other,” he said at a press conference on the 66th FIABCI World Real Estate Congress.
Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib, who was present at the event, said that is why ground research on how people live, work and play is important.
“We need new ideas and approaches from developers on realising the vision of a greater Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
The challenges will be great. He cited parking lots in the city centre as an example. In the face of growing car ownership, how many will be deemed enough?
“Would there be a need for parking lots in the middle of the city if the public transport campaign is a success? But at the same time, what of those who reside in the city?
“It wouldn’t do for the city to be a bustling hub in the day but a ghost town at night.
“Now we have a policy. Any building in the city centre less than 200m from the LRT station must provide connectivity as in shuttle buses. Based on our planning, we now have 47km of walkways in which people can enjoy the city space by using public transport,” said Ahmad Phesal.
His chief concern now is how to redevelop rundown parts of Kuala Lumpur such as Pudu and Chow Kit.
Having had the advantage of studying the 15 master plans of planned cities worldwide, Maha pointed to an example where one had a population of 150,000 who did not have to travel anymore than five minutes to a hospital, train station, shopping centre or school.
Shouldering this responsibility are developers.
Conference moderator Michael Geh, who is also FIABCI vice-president, said this is where the three-day congress has a part to play.
“This interaction with local developers is hoped to inspire them to work towards the ideal,” he said.
Geh also touched on the need for transparency. He does not deny some quarters have been evasive in divulging information to questions regarding methods of construction and building materials.
To this, Ahmad Phesal said authorities had strict policies. One is a complete slope development guideline. Ikram (Institut Kerja Raya Malaysia) is DBKL’s second-opinion party for this. Developers must also provide 10% of open space for projects.
“For property buyers, beware is the key word,” said FIABCI Malaysia president Tengku Abdul Aziz Tengku Mahmud.
Would it be fair to put the “crowded city” phenomenon squarely on the developers’ shoulders?
Geh feels groups who put pressure on developers should be investigated for their motives.
“Sometimes they are a small group but they are loud. So it looks like the whole city does not want development. I hope the authorities will not give in to them unnecessarily for the good of the community,” said Geh.
For more information on
Building and Construction event, please visit www.asiapacificevents.com
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