Urban development must be balanced, sustainable, and inclusive in Malaysia
She emphasised that this approach is crucial to achieving balanced urbanisation while considering environmental preservation, climate change challenges, and the needs of vulnerable groups, including women, youth, and professionals.
'We want urbanisation to be developed sustainably while preserving the environment despite challenges like climate change.
'At the same time, the needs of every urban individual must be addressed, not just based on top-level visions but what communities truly require,' she said after the Stakeholder Assembly for the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Forum (ASUF) 2025 here today.
In her speech, Aiman Athirah highlighted the vital role of women, particularly at the grassroots level, as agents of resilience and innovation in tackling climate change challenges.
Youth, she added, play a pioneering role in digital transformation, while the business community acts as a catalyst for inclusive economic growth through investments and sustainable urban models.
She noted that programmes like ASUF 2025 provide a platform for stakeholders to share ideas, build collaborative networks, and support the implementation of the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Strategy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at the local level.
As ASEAN Chair in 2025, Malaysia will prioritise people-centred urbanisation, aligning with the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, which positions cities as key areas for realising this vision. - Bernama
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
3 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
RM8.4mil to provide Jalur Gemilang badges for 5mil students
Education minister Fadhlina Sidek said getting students to wear the Jalur Gemilang badge on their uniforms is one of the ministry's initiatives to instil patriotism and love for the country from an early age. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : A total of RM8.4 million was allocated to procure Jalur Gemilang badges for 5.14 million students, including those in schools, matriculation colleges, Form Six colleges, and teacher training institutions. In a written parliamentary reply, education minister Fadhlina Sidek said the funds were disbursed to state education departments and educational institutions in February based on student enrolment numbers. A total of 91 suppliers were involved in supplying the badges, with each student receiving two Jalur Gemilang badges free of charge. Fadhlina said the procurement process was managed by the state education departments, district education offices, and institutions through the ePerolehan system, either by tender or quotation, depending on the amount of allocation received. She said the state education departments were also granted the flexibility to procure the badges by zones to expedite the supply process and to encourage participation from a larger pool of qualified suppliers. Fadhlina said parents are allowed to provide additional badges of the same size and suitable material if desired. 'Wearing the Jalur Gemilang badge on students' uniforms is one of the ministry's initiatives to instil patriotism and love for the country among students from an early age,' she said. She was responding to a question by Latiff Rahman (PN-Kuala Krai) about the total cost incurred by the government in supplying Jalur Gemilang badges to all students under the ministry's institutions and which company supplied them. Public school students started wearing the Jalur Gemilang badge on their school uniforms in March. However, the education ministry said no disciplinary action will be taken against those who fail to do so.
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: Desecration of Jalur Gemilang
To fly the Jalur Gemilang upside down is an insult to the dignity of our beloved nation, but a hardware store owner in Kepala Batas, Penang, has done exactly that. And to do that just weeks before the country celebrates its National Day is like stabbing the very heart of the nation. Insult a man's dignity, he may forgive you. But insult the dignity of the nation, which the Jalur Gemilang is a symbol of, he will neither forgive you nor forget the disrespectful act. So will not the nation. The proof of this is the numerous police reports lodged around the country by loyal Malaysians and statements issued by national leaders. Disturbed as he was, National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang took to X, urging the police to take firm action against the offender, stressing the need for the action to serve as a lesson to all. Flying the flag correctly is every citizen's responsibility as a sign of respect and love for the country, Bernama quoted him as saying. He is right. To fly the Jalur Gemilang incorrectly is to seek to blemish the sovereignty, dignity and unity of the nation. Such an abhorrent act mustn't be tolerated. Strongly worded condemnation was also issued by Penang PKR Youth chief Muhammad Zakwan Mustafa Kamal in a statement on Saturday. He said the act of flying the Jalur Gemilang upside down was disrespectful, irresponsible, and an insult to the dignity of the nation. He said if the act was proven to be deliberate, no compromise should be shown. We say the same, too. Zakwan also called on the hardware store owner to issue a public apology to all Malaysians. As this Leader goes to press, no such apology has been issued. The police are saying that there is a case for prosecution. The hardware shop owner, who was detained on Sunday and released on police bail later, is being investigated under Section 5 of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1963, Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. If there is a case for prosecution, it is high time the authorities bring to bear the full brunt of the law on him to show how serious an insult to the dignity of the nation is. There have been far too many cases in the past, many of the culprits feigning ignorance. Utter incredulity must be the response. Even in the past, it wasn't the act of one who hadn't come of age. Or the act of one who suffered from some disease of the mind. Though the past acts showed clear disrespect for the dignity of the nation, we chose to adopt a softly, softly approach. The Kepala Batas incident proves to the authorities that such an approach was wrong. Nay it might have even encouraged it. If what the police investigation is saying is right, then the full brunt of the law must be brought to bear on him. Even ordinary crime demands punishment. Insulting the symbol of the dignity of a nation is no ordinary crime. As severe as it is, so must the punishment be.
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Taiwan simulation reveals Singapore as lifeline
THE exercise presented a fraught scenario: China's military had blockaded Taiwan by air and sea, and Southeast Asian countries were grappling with how to evacuate as many as one million of their nationals trapped on the besieged island. Over two days in April at a Singapore hotel, some 40 participants and observers in the war game, including serving and retired Asia-Pacific officials and military officers, as well as security scholars, simulated their responses to the unfolding crisis, according to four people familiar with the discussions. Hours ticked by as some players weighed unified action through Asean, while others reached out to the mock United States, Chinese and Japanese delegates to negotiate special air and sea corridors to extract foreign nationals. Eventually, the people said, a stark conclusion emerged: Southeast Asian states needed a Singaporean airlift to have a chance of evacuating their people. "Nothing was moving until the Singaporeans stepped in at the 11th hour," said one participant in the event at the Jen Singapore Tanglin hotel. "They had found a way of getting their own people out, and offered to get others out, too." Reflecting its discreet and decades-old security presence inside Taiwan, where its forces train, Singapore was able to leverage access to airfields and aircraft, said the person. But the exercise ended before any detailed discussion of how Singapore had reached a deal with China to secure an evacuation route through the blockade, or how precisely it would work, said three of the people. Southeast Asians account for about 94 per cent of the almost one million foreign residents in Taiwan, according to Taiwan's National Immigration Agency. Indonesians, Vietnamese and Filipinos make up the vast majority of those foreigners, with comparatively small numbers of Japanese and Americans. Singapore's Defence Ministry said it wasn't involved in the "workshop" and none of its officials attended in any capacity. China's Foreign Ministry said it wasn't aware of the circumstances of the exercise. The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, which organised the exercise, said participants had attended in their private capacities, and that it could not comment on "discussions, attendees, or any other elements". Drew Thompson, a Singapore-based security scholar, said it was vital for Southeast Asian countries to move beyond war games and contingency discussions to build meaningful, unofficial ties with Taiwan, particularly its military. These countries have diplomatic ties with Beijing and don't officially recognise Taipei. "The big takeaway here is that a plan is one thing but you need the access and the relationships to put it into play," said Thompson, of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, who wasn't involved in the exercise. "Singapore has long had these ties, the Philippines is building them, but it remains an open question whether the other countries in Southeast Asia have the unofficial networks in place to meaningfully engage with Taiwan in a conflict." Given recent drills in which Chinese vessels encircled Taiwan, some military attaches and analysts say any attempt by Beijing to seize the island could start with a blockade, which would be considered an act of war under international law. The risks are felt acutely in Singapore, a financial and shipping hub that hosts US Navy ships and surveillance aircraft yet maintains strong cultural, diplomatic and economic ties with China. Singaporean forces have conducted military training in Taiwan since 1975, under an arrangement known as Project Starlight. The presence is seldom publicly acknowledged by officials in Singapore, which does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. But it remains important to Singapore's defence forces, according to seven diplomats and security scholars familiar with the matter. Singapore rotates up to 3,000 infantry troops and commandos annually through three training camps in southern Taiwan, according to five of the seven people. Singapore's forces also train regularly in Australia, France, Brunei and the US. Yet an outbreak of war in Taiwan could trap Singapore's forces there or render them bargaining chips that could give China military and diplomatic leverage over Singapore, according to some analysts and military attaches. The writers are from Reuters
