Stop city sprawl, encourage people return to inner cities, says deputy minister

 

Deputy Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong. -- BERNAMA FILEPIC

KUALA LUMPUR: It is time for policymakers to rethink existing urban planning policies by exploring ways to encourage people to return to inner cities, Deputy Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong said.

This, he said, will stop urban sprawl and subsequently reduce the pressure exerted by rapid urbanisation.

"It is time for us to rethink the whole model and think how as to how to stop sprawling city and bring people back to the inner city," he said in a clip that was shared on his TikTok account yesterday.

The clip was taken during an expert roundtable discussion on urban policy titled "How to Accelerate, Coordinate and Transform Malaysia's Urban Future" which he attended recently.

Encouraging people to return to the inner city, he said, can be achieved by developing more rental housing in these areas.

"Create housing in the inner city of Kuala Lumpur without requiring people to buy the houses.

"This means moving away from the single-unit ownership model and creating more rental housing stock for more people, especially young Malaysians."

In the same clip, Liew also gave an example on how the population in the city is expected to increase following the decision by a bank to relocate its headquarters to Menara Merdeka 118.

"At some point, some 15,000 people will be hired (and work) within the building (Menara Merdeka 118).

"Of the total people hired, there will be at least 10,000 people, who are earning less than RM5,000 in a month, whom many of them are 35 years old and below," he said.

In a separate social media posting, Liew said urbanisation does not always equate to prosperity.

"Policymakers and urban planners need to adopt a new mindset and develop models that encourage people to return to the inner cities, reduce reliance on private transportation and better utilise urban spaces," he said. - NST