How to get Malaysians walking and cycling

 

By Boo Jia Cher

For decades, Malaysia has been trapped in car-centric urban planning; turning cities into sprawling, traffic-clogged landscapes where pedestrians are overlooked and cyclists are nearly extinct. As a result, Malaysia ranks among the world’s least walkable nations.

A radical shift in mobility is urgently needed—starting with the creation of an “active mobility commission” (AMC) to champion walkability and cycling infrastructure.

What is ‘active mobility’?

Active mobility refers to human-powered transportation, such as walking and cycling, that nurtures sustainable, accessible and healthier urban environments. Prioritising active mobility allows us to reduce car dependency and reclaim public spaces for the people.

Malaysia’s excessive reliance on cars has led to serious consequences:

Public health crisis: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension are on the rise, exacerbated by a sedentary lifestyle where walking is virtually eliminated from daily life.

Degraded urban environment: Green and public spaces are sacrificed for highways, parking lots and ever-expanding roads. If you live in an urban area, chances are you deal with constant traffic noise and gridlock, unless you’re in a secluded, gated community.

Financial strain on households: Car ownership is expensive. Petrol, tolls, maintenance and insurance drain household incomes, disproportionately affecting the B40 and M40 groups. Meanwhile, public transportation, especially buses and KTM, remains unreliable and underfunded.

Uncontrolled urban sprawl: The dominance of automobiles encourages unchecked urban sprawl, leading to higher living costs, environmental degradation, worsening congestion, and the spread of illegal street racing and reckless motorcycling in sprawling suburban areas.

Establishing an AMC

To make walking and cycling practical, safe, and prioritised across Malaysia, we must establish the AMC, a dedicated body that reimagines urban mobility beyond cars.

Led by the housing and local government ministry in collaboration with the ministries of health, transport and environment, the AMC will unite urban planners, public transport operators and mobility advocates to embed active mobility into daily life.

The upcoming Urban Renewal Act is a crucial opportunity to mandate pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly infrastructure. By setting design standards and shaping zoning policies, the AMC can ensure every redevelopment project promotes vibrant, walkable communities and reduces car dependency.

A fragmented, inconsistent system

Malaysia’s urban planning is an absolute mess—a chaotic patchwork of conflicting standards that turns something as basic as walking or cycling into a gamble with your life. Every local council plays by its own arbitrary rules, creating a cityscape where some areas boast proper sidewalks while others abandon pedestrians to the mercy of speeding cars on pitch-dark roads with no crossings in sight.

Cycling lanes are often meaningless streaks of blue paint, doing nothing to shield cyclists from reckless drivers. There’s no single authority to enforce real accountability, no cohesive vision; just a fragmented, indifferent system that treats walking and cycling as an afterthought at best, a punishment at worst.

Accountability and standardisation

A dedicated AMC must enforce strict, nationwide design and safety standards for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. Sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian signals, cyclist and pedestrian bridges over highways, and dedicated cycling lanes must be non-negotiable in every neighbourhood, not just privileged enclaves like Desa Park City.

AMC must collaborate with transport agencies and local councils to enhance connectivity around transit stations, ensuring active mobility is easy and practical. Connected walking networks, safe cycling paths and ample bike parking will boost public transport use and reduce car dependence.

Mandatory audits will hold local councils accountable, exposing negligence and compelling compliance. Without centralised oversight, active mobility will remain nothing more than hollow sustainability rhetoric.

Protection from profit-driven development

The commission must also serve as a watchdog against reckless urban development that puts corporate profits over community well-being. Too often, new highways cut through established neighbourhoods, displacing families and destroying public spaces, all in the name of “progress”.

Instead, the AMC will push for walkable streets, protected cycling lanes and green public spaces, ensuring that cities are designed for people, not just vehicles.

Walking and cycling as a right

Beyond infrastructure, this commission must drive a cultural shift. Malaysians must stop viewing walking and cycling as either a niche lifestyle choice or an unfortunate necessity for the less privileged. Instead, they should be recognised as fundamental rights in a modern city.

Institutionalising active mobility can lead to healthier lifestyles by reducing NCD rates, while also cutting down air and noise pollution. In addition to health and environmental advantages, it fosters dynamic, liveable cities that emphasise human connection and community involvement.

The Dutch cycling culture exemplifies this, demonstrating how widespread active mobility leads to improved public health, lower healthcare costs, and economic benefits, estimated at RM91 billion annually.

No more half-measures

Malaysia’s future should not be shaped by congestion, pollution and car dependency. With almost 78% of the population residing in urban areas by 2020, people-centred urban development must move beyond mere rhetoric or marketing slogans and become a core principle shaping city planning and policy.

We already have commissions for human rights and anti-corruption, so why not for something as crucial as mobility?

An AMC is an urgent necessity. It’s time to forge a future where walking and cycling aren’t just recreational activities, but fundamental rights for all Malaysians. - FMT

Boo Jia Cher is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.