Sustainable Waste Management

Waste management can be sustained if the planning process is done at the initial stage. End of pipe solution would not make the waste management sustained. It is a complex issue and critical challenge to city manager.

Welcome 2014

Despite the anticipated economic downturn and uncertainty in development front for year 2014, life has to move on or else you will become irrelevent as many people would said. I have a wish list in welcoming the year 2014 so that I would not diminish by the high tide of life and society. This includes improving my health, sustaining lifestyle, getting my daughter to improve on her learning skills and knowledge, making sure my parents are in good health and happy, my marriage is getting more harmony and of course my career is getting better from last year. In order to achieve the above, I pledge to work harder, smarter and intelligently with honesty and sincerity. My strategy is to begin early working on my plan and to review any achievements periodically. Hope at the end of the year, I can share with all what I manage to achieve, happily.

Flash Back of 2013

Year 2013 is coming to an end now. The year saw a very challenging happenings in everywhere and every sector or every walk of life. We witness the 13th General Election of Malaysia which was the determining factor for the way how any event been handled and targetted for. Everyone was so occupied by the anticipated outcome of any programmes and who the intended target groups are. Achievements were being measured based on visible benefits that people would obtained. Some people labelled these are superficial phenomenum. Things got moving to the normal way only after election, without much politicking. Petaling Jaya City Council welcomed its first Lady Mayor, Alinah Ahmad. The new mayor brought in with her abundance experiences on housing and property development as well as land administration. A hand on city manager, she believes seeing is believing and no taliking but action first. Under her leadership, changing in administration, management style and approaches are under way and improving for higher efficiency in service delivery. Year 2013 also saw the efforts on low carbon green city initiative paid off. The innovative Property Assessment Rebate Scheme which is running on 3rd year was conferred the Green Apples Award by the Green Organisation of UK in mid of June 2013. Apart from that, the rain water harvesting programme implemented by the Council well before by law made its a mandatory requirement won the Green Neighbourhood Award conferred by the Ministry of Urban Well Beings, Housing and Local Government. Both awards brought joys and recognition to those working on it, especially the Low Carbon Green City of Petaling Jaya Task Force. For the first time also, Sustainability Report of Petaling Jaya outlining the achievements of MBPJ in low carbon initiative and sustainable development was published. The Report has been written based on the structure of Low Carbon City Framework as published by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water or KeTTHA. Although in its infant stage of providing reliable information on carbon emission, it is a try to begin with telling people on achievements that later should be carbon-dimensioned and related. The inaugural traning session for operators and teachers of kindergarden and nursery in PJ was also conducted. As low carbon green city initiative's capacity building program, the training has dual purposes, namely promoting the environmental education amongst small kids and secondly to green the building or physical premises of the kindergarden or nursery. It is critical and important since long ago, this target group has been neglected when environmental requirement mattered the most. I have been frequent traveller too throughout the year. Having visited London 3 times, Melbourne and other domestic destination for seminars and conferences. The opportunities given have broadened my perspective, undersanding and knowledge on new emerging trends and challenges as well as serving as a learning curse for the best practices on urbanisation, planning, transportation and etc. OSC has been moving well with higher record of meetings being achieved since the inception of OSC Unit in 2007. The meetings have managed to provide a platform for fruitful and constructive discussion amongst members on proposed development projects. I am looking forward on 2014 when all submissions include the building plans application will be gone online. On the family front of OSC Unit, relationship is cordial and dynamic of the group is always there. Enhancing better relationship and working together as a team would be the way forwards for next year. Certainly I will miss the good memory of 2013.

Learning City

Learning city means lifelong learning opportunities for everyone either with formal or informal education. Similarly, either learning on applied science or skill learning. With the World getting more complex and demand from the people and community is escalating, the demand for knowledge is also higher especially in the field that might have not been covered under the existing formal education system. Some underprivileged people might also found that attending to formal education is too costly and beyond their affordability. Some might find that certain compulsory subjects are of their disliking. Some might think that they need extra curriculum fulfilling their own need pursuing knowledge. Thereby, a thriving city must be able to provide and cater for multiple learning needs of the people from diverse background. Learning through social media and internet have provided new paradigm to the meaning of learning. Learning can be done with a group of people sharing the same interest and hobby. Learning can be done on real time and with people from different physical community, but rather the cyber world. Learning can be fast with the availability of information over the web. Learning can be multi-discipline and do not necessary follow the sequence. Learning can be fun without the guidance of teachers. Learning can be experiential. For a learning city, the above are required pre-requisite. To make this happen I believe, good and affordable infrastructure especially the ICT, provision of a conducive environment and community for learning must be provided by the city government.

Thriving Neighbourhood

Thriving neighbourhood is visible and can be felt. You can describe a thriving neighbour the moment you step into it space, talking to the people, walking onto the streets, observing many on going and vibrant activities. This scenario cannot be faked and the negative feeling cannot be hide. Thriving neighbour can be built over the years with efforts from all walk of life. The Authority cannot keep telling the people and stakeholders what they intend to do, but to talk to the stakeholders what both can do together. Likewise the stakeholders cannot keep pointing finger on the atuhority for non-perfoming. It must be a mutual understanding and consensus of doing something together. This, of course require share value, vision and actions. Thriving neighbourhood must be a place for everyone, those who want to sleep there, those who want to study, those who want to work and those who want to spend leisure and free time there. Everyone will get to fulfill their need without jeopardising the need of others. All needs can be met and happened in harmony. Everyone will share the vision, value and actions of what they envision their neighbourhood to be in future. As the city is the sum of neighbourhoods, the moment the neighbourhoods doing well and thriving, there is no reason for a city of not performing well. Thereby, making a city thriving, we have no choice but to make sure that neighbourhood, as the basic unit in city ro start and do well.

Convergence

Convergence means collaboration between different force from multi-discipline and diverse background. It is also refered to rethinking different ideas and making it a shared one by different contributors of ideas. Some also said convergence is a combination of many multi-facet, ideas or even thoughts for the benefit of bringing greater impact. Convergence is the new paradigm of city, and for the changes and betterment of environment and community. People who are once the receipent of information from the media, now has also become the producer or provider of information. They can choose and pick information relevent to them for consumption. They can even broadcast the news for wider audience. This emerging trend is so powerful that nothing, wrong doing or good things can be hidden from the general public. This, bring in new level of accountability and transparency. For knowledge sharing as well, people can access to information within split second and without much hassle. Thereby, the information providers must ensure that information as published is accurate and update. The urbanisation process is so complex nowasday and it need city management of multi approaches and solution. No single profession can solve the city problem by themselves, but wider collaboration and engagement are required. Convergence, in this sense is critical. We need personal who are good in converge different ideas, meeting different people and able to solicit different ideas and finally to melt and incorporate the ideas into a workable solution, that is understood by all. Perhaps, we need a new profession, the convergent.

Melbourne - A Liveable City

Melbourne Knowledge Week held throughout the week in different venue saw the presentation of more than 60 events. The Week saw the presentation of various knowledge gained from initiatives by the Council, Government Agencies, Universities, Private Sector, NGOs and more importantly the community and people. It is fascinating to witness many innovations and creativity on displayed and shared out with others. Melbourne voted as the most liveable city in the World for many years has certainly have many to share. Its planning, management, innovation, administration, social development, environmental and heritage conservation, transportation, education and learning. Walking on the streets is such a wonderful experience that you feel the most welcome and peaceful. Enjoying what on the Collins and Swanston Street are fantastic and bring back good memory. Observing the way construction work is carried out, so neat and tidy will make you refresh on why such a work ethic cannot be achieved back home. It is such a surprise to see a hawker conducting in a pretty small stall, but well managed and clean compared to the escalating high demand for bigger space from our own hawkers. These are perhaps the things we should learn and listen from the mouth of the Melbourne City Council. I am eargerly excited to wait for 31st October 2013 when we have the opportunity to meet them up.