LETTERS: Development takes place when comfortable shelters are built to meet social needs, while expressways and buildings are constructed to fulfil the country's aspirations of becoming a developed nation.
However, such constructions come with unintended consequences, and environmentalists and experts have looked for an ecological balance as development continues.
Their hope is to change conventional methods to a more responsible approach that can create more development without damaging the Earth.
That hope happened when sustainable development was introduced in 1987.
Since then, Malaysia has taken part in many environmental and sustainability awareness programmes to mitigate environmental destruction due to climate change.
In 1974,the Environmental Quality Act was enacted to mitigate and control environmental damage. Under the Look East Policy, however, rapid mega-developments were continued.
Rising concern about the destruction of ecosystems drove Malaysia to formulate the New Economic Model (NEM) in 2009, which pursued sustainable development based on high income, inclusivity and sustainability. This model echoed the three aspirations underlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.
To pursue sustainable development, Malaysia is practising what was already established for decades.
Moving the government administrative centre to Putrajaya was a good example of sustainable development.
Putrajaya is conceptualised as an intelligent city and a "city-in-a-garden", which involves integration with the natural environment. It is divided into 20 precincts.
Now, there are more precincts with 40 per cent of the city being designated solely for open space.
Putrajaya's planning involves the planting of shaded trees, 200 ha of wetlands and a 400 ha artificial lake. These features are carbon sinks which help to restore Sungai Chua and Sungai Bisa, which have been polluted by agricultural activities.
Oil palm plantations were converted into wetlands to operate in stormwater treatment and to control floods.
The wetlands encompass 650 ha, of which 197 ha comprise 24 wetland cells. The Putrajaya model prevents major flooding and creates a 38km-long scenic waterfront view which is home to more than 200 bird species.
However, not all development projects fully embrace sustainable development.
Shah Alam was formerly known as Sungai Renggam. It is similar to Putrajaya. On Dec 18 last year, 316.5mm of rainfall caused Shah Alam's worst flood.
Nobody could have predicted the adverse effects of climate change. Recent floods in the Klang Valley show the need for sustainable development implementation.
Sungai Klang's capacity is dependent on tidal conditions and 70 per cent of the river is a major waterway that flows through Shah Alam and connects with Sungai Damansara.
The Sungai Damansara basin area is 141 sq km, while the developed area comprises 116.4 sq km and forest covers 24.6 sq km, indicating that Shah Alam has high urbanisation. It is a concrete jungle, which is another flooding factor.
The prime minister's speech in the Dewan Rakyat when tabling the 12th Malaysia Plan mooted that the development of resilient green cities will be intensified, whereby 120 cities have been targeted to achieve sustainable city status.
The Green City Action Plan initiatives will be implemented and multidimensional big data analytics system introduced.
It is hoped that sustainable development with climate change in mind will be seriously considered before any development is allowed.
In 2017, Penang was hit by 315mm of rainfall in a single day, resulting in one of its worst floods.
Then, the peninsula was struck by the same issue, resulting in many deaths and much destruction.
In the past, Malaysia only suffered minor typhoon effects, but recently, it has suffered more direct hits.
All future developments in Malaysia will have to adhere to the stipulated guidelines as underlined in the New Urban Agenda (NUA).
NUA is an urbanisation blueprint that will be implemented by all cities and its stakeholders in support of the 2030 Agenda and making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The NUA was adopted by 170 countries at the United Nations Habitat III Summit in Quito, Ecuador in 2016.
EMINDER KAUR KAWAN SINGH
Senior training consultant, Cluster for Public Policy and Governance,
National Institute of Public Administration (Intan)
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times