Think City, in partnership with the World Bank, has launched a policy paper titled “Better Cities for Greater Growth: Rethinking Malaysian Cities for Sustainable Development.” This initiative aims to advocate for a spatial approach to fostering inclusive and sustainable economic growth across Malaysian cities.
The collaborative effort began with a series of discussions and culminated in an Expert Roundtable Dialogue held in June 2023. The dialogue gathered representatives from diverse sectors including federal and local governments, private entities, research institutes, and universities.
Insights gleaned from these discussions have been synthesised into a comprehensive policy paper that underscores the critical importance of aligning Malaysia’s urban development strategies with principles of productivity, inclusivity, and sustainability.
The paper highlights Malaysian cities as pivotal drivers towards elevating the country to a high-income economy status. It points out that no country has achieved high-income status without vibrant cities, and Malaysia’s urbanization has been instrumental in its economic growth trajectory.
Over the past decades, Malaysia has experienced significant population growth and urbanisation, with urban population soaring from 28 percent to nearly 78 percent between 1962 and 2022, coinciding with a robust annual GDP growth of 3.6 percent and a substantial rise in GDP per capita.
Think City, Managing Director, Hamdan Abdul Majeed, emphasised, “Malaysia’s future prosperity hinges on the performance of our cities and towns in fostering global socioeconomic competitiveness, resilience, and a high quality of life. Today’s report reaffirms the urgency to address urban challenges to unlock the manifold benefits of urbanization, including poverty reduction, inequality mitigation, climate resilience, and enhanced economic opportunities.”
However, the report also identifies challenges such as poor city planning leading to productivity loss from congestion, housing affordability issues, and climate vulnerability. It advocates for adopting an economic geography approach to drive productive and inclusive development by integrating spatial and economic planning. This approach aims to enhance city competitiveness, liveability, and resilience.
Hamdan added, “Through our collaboration with the World Bank, this report underscores the critical need to rethink urban development strategies in Malaysia. By embracing innovative solutions and adopting an economic geography approach, we can build cities that are not only competitive and resilient but also inclusive, driving sustainable growth for our nation.”
The policy paper proposes three key strategies for enhancing local institutional capacity and effective urban planning. These include optimising roles and responsibilities across government levels, enhancing resource allocation and capacity building for secondary cities, and leveraging digital technologies and promoting climate-resilient investments.
