(From left) FT Minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique, Governor of Tokyo Shintaro Ishihara and KL Mayor Ab Hakim Borhan at the launch of the 7th plenary meeting of ANMC21 at the Legend Hotel.
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KUALA LUMPUR: Steps to reduce flash floods and improve public transport in the city are two of the main topics for discussion at a three-day meeting of the Asian Network of Major Cities which began here yesterday.
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique said one objective was to strengthen Asia's influence internationally.
The other objective is to promote development and prosperity in the region by combining forces in 12 major areas such as the economy, society, environment, safety, security, arts and culture, technology and training.
Zulhasnan said participating countries would share their views and expertise in future joint projects.
As an example, he noted Tokyo's excellent public transport system, with integrated rail, bus and taxi services managed by the city council.
"We have to follow the examples of other developed countries, and try to adopt their methods since we are still a developing nation," he said.
Another improvement urgently needed is to mitigate flash floods in KL.
He told participants about KL's flood mitigation measures such as former mining ponds turned into flood retention ponds, and the Smart tunnel.
The tunnel funnels water from Sungei Kelang in Ampang to a retention pond in Sungei Besi, while also serving to carry road traffic to bypass the city centre.
Participants at the meeting will be taken to visit the Smart tunnel.
He said development in environmentally-sensitive areas would also be discussed.
"We need to regulate development in sensitive areas especially hill slopes and natural forest reserves by controlling soil erosion upstream and to reduce silting in rivers.
"We also need to discourage the dumping of garbage and other solid waste into rivers to avoid flash floods," he said.
Zulhasnan said campaigns to foster love for the rivers should be conducted regularly among citizens to inculcate a sense of responsibility. "With the assistance of the local government, we can protect and improve the quality of our physical environment," he said.
He said the only way for Asian cities to improve was through strong cooperation to unleash their full potential "so that collectively we can support each other to make Asia a dominant and influential continent".
The Asian Network links 11 Asian cities undertaking joint projects on crisis management, environment improvement, industrial development
Eight cities are represented at the meeting: Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo.
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