KL residents’ wish list with Hannah Yeoh as FT minister

With the general election just two years away, the Segambut MP can use the short term to ease public frustrations, and show that city governance can be more attentive and humane.

From Boo Jia Cher

Hannah Yeoh’s appointment as the federal territories minister comes with a reality most Kuala Lumpur residents understand instinctively: time is short.

With the next general election likely two years away, few expect sweeping reforms or the reversal of decades of car-centric, highway-driven planning. Yet expectations remain high precisely because of who she is.

Yeoh spent much of her political career as an assemblyman and MP in the Klang Valley, often in opposition, working closely with residents while navigating limited power.

She knows the everyday realities of congested streets, disappearing green space, unaffordable housing and decisions made without consultation. That familiarity shapes hopes that, even in a short tenure, her leadership could feel different.

Short terms can still leave lasting marks. For those who live, work, and raise families in KL, these two years are about stopping obvious harm, easing daily frustrations, and showing that city governance can be more attentive and humane.

Enough highways

The first hope is modest: stop making things worse. Too many neighbourhoods have seen roads widened at the expense of sidewalks and trees, with flyovers inserted into already dense areas. The recently approved New Pantai Expressway 2 (NPE2) is a clear example.

Such projects do little to reduce congestion over time. Instead, they make streets louder, hotter, and more hostile to walk along, locking the city deeper into car dependence and contradicting national goals to increase public transport use.

An end to projects that shrink pedestrian space, paired with proper assessment of impacts on nearby residents, would signal a meaningful shift in priorities.

Basic standards for walking

Closely linked is the everyday experience of walking. In many parts of the city, walking is technically possible but unpleasant or dangerous. Sidewalks disappear without warning, are blocked, or are so uneven that most people avoid them. In areas outside the city centre, pedestrians are increasingly rare in KL.

Treating sidewalks as essential infrastructure, with clear standards, continuous paths, and real enforcement, would immediately improve daily life. This is not ideological; it is about safety and dignity.

The same applies to access to public transport. Improving areas around MRT and LRT stations with shade, safe crossings, and quieter streets would make public transport genuinely usable for more residents, reducing reliance on cars.

Affordable housing near transit

Housing and transport are inseparable. For many young Malaysians in KL, the true cost of housing includes time, fuel, tolls, and exhaustion.

There is growing hope that more affordable homes can be built, or retrofitted from underused buildings, near rail stations. The recent Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) affordable housing project near LRT Cheras, which prioritises transit access over excessive parking, offers one model.

Working with the private sector, the ministry could encourage smaller, well-designed, genuinely affordable homes within walking distance of public transport, making car or motorcycle ownership unnecessary. They need not be large or luxurious, only liveable, connected, and priced for ordinary Malaysians.

Protecting and creating green space

Many residents also long for more green space. Open-air carparks dot the city, often on idle private land, while nearby neighbourhoods lack parks, places to sit, or spaces for children.

Acquiring and converting even a handful into pocket parks or community spaces would deliver quick, visible benefits: cooler microclimates, more social interaction, and a city that values people over cars.

At the same time, new green space means little if existing areas remain vulnerable. The threat to the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in Puchong has underscored the need to properly gazette and legally protect remaining forests, parks, and green buffers.

The long battle over Bukit Kiara, including the court challenge that halted development at Taman Rimba Kiara, illustrates how easily public land can be lost when protections are weak. As MP for Segambut, Yeoh was closely involved in that fight, shaping expectations of her now.

Accountable leadership

There is also a strong desire for accountability. Major developments and street changes are often decided behind closed doors, with residents informed only when construction begins.

Clear public displays of plans online, in neighbourhood malls, near train stations, and in busy commercial areas, paired with plain-language explanations, would make a real difference. So would genuine opportunities for feedback, rather than token weekday sessions that exclude most working people.

Yeoh has often described her constituency work as “colour blind”, responding based on need rather than background. Applied to city governance, this would mean consistent rules for sidewalks, green spaces, consultation, and development approvals, regardless of postcode or political influence.

Reasonable hope

None of these hopes is radical. They do not demand instant transformation or confrontation with powerful interests. They reflect the everyday frustrations of people who navigate the city daily.

If Yeoh’s tenure delivers safer sidewalks, protected green spaces, more affordable homes near transit, and clearer decision-making, it will have made a difference, showing that cities can change when basic standards are treated as reasonable expectations, not luxuries. - FMT

Boo Jia Cher is an FMT reader.

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