Book on PJ Sustainable Communities Initiatives

The Panel of Judges for Petaling Jaya Sustainable Community Award 2011 has a meeting on Monday evening to brainstorm the proposal to publish a book highlighting the achievements done by various community group over the last ten years. The publication is to commensurate the 10th Anniversary celebration of Local Agenda 21 Petaling Jaya implementation. It is worthwhile to celebrate.

Nobody has thought LA 21 PJ can progress to its present stage when the initiative was conceived in year 2000. Petaling Jaya City Council with 3 other local authorities were selected to implement the pilot project for a period of two years. The purpose then was to identify appropriate model for implementation given that the governance system, demographic profile of stakeholders and legal backing are not entirely similar to other countries who have successfully started off the programme. Everyone was so excited to see LA 21 as another platform for greater public participation towards sustainable development.

While the project initiation and involvement of NGO has provided the important impetus for LA 21 PJ to sustain, it is the commitment and dedication of the residents associations that made local sustainable development on going and prosper. Given the governance structure we have on the ground, it is critical to have the involvement of residents associations. Without them, I cannot imagine of filter down the ideas and concept of sustainable development to the grassroots and similarly the authority will have tough time to understand the problems and challenges on the ground. So, the book must be structured in such a way to pay tribute to the residents associations and to highlight their challenges and success for sharing and replication.

At the same time, the contribution of various partners is unforgettable. These include the NGO representatives, panel of judges who have been with this Award since year 2001, school teachers, agencies and staff of MBPJ. They are the hero behind the screen for facilitating the movement of LA 21 to greater height. They are partly responsible to introduce and market LA 21 PJ to other local authorities and stakeholders. Hence, It is of no surprise as some have nominated LA 21 PJ as the case study for next year Johannesburg's Rio + 20 Conference.