ABSTRACT

Ashiru Bello and Ainul Jaria Maidin take a close look at Malaysia in “Sustainable development initiatives at the local government level in Malaysia.” The authors write that land use planning and development control have been identified as essential tools in the prevention of many environmental problems, sustainable management of natural resources and management of the urban environment, and Malaysia supports initiatives that seek to achieve sustainable development. As part of this strategy, the Malaysian government promotes the incorporation of environmental protection measures into all the various national development plans. Sustainable development has contributed immensely to the array of issues considered in the efforts to balance between individual interest and common good. This being one of the focal points of Malaysia’s planning system and also concords with international concerns. The argument that there is a firm adoption of sustainable development tenets in planning system as compared to other areas, does not guarantee the occurrence of a systematic transformation of the planning agenda itself. A number of cases particularly regarding spatial development and environmental conservation suggests that the planning system is still dominated by the craving for development which in a way contradicts the modest focus of sustainability. In order to develop a viable approach to environmental conservation and shape the spatial pattern of development at the local level, several strategies have been adopted in Malaysia. This chapter sets out the initiatives taken at the State and local government level in Malaysia guided by the Federal government policies adopted at the State and local authorities where they are entrusted with the task to plan and manage land use planning and development control processes for promoting sustainable development.