- 11 months ago
Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the 15th and first female Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, unpacks the ambitious Pelan Tempatan Kuala Lumpur 2040 (PTKL2040). As the city charts its course for the next 15 years, we explore how this comprehensive urban development blueprint aims to reshape Kuala Lumpur into a more inclusive, sustainable, and tech-forward metropolis.
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00:00Intro
00:00Welcome to The Economy, I'm your host, Ibrahim Sani
00:10Today, we look at urban development and trying to see how this ties up with our 13th Malaysia Plan
00:15Very recently, a few months ago, we saw the launch of the Kuala Lumpur Development Plan 2040
00:21or the Plan Tempatan Kuala Lumpur 2040
00:25It was launched by the Federal Minister as well as fellow dignitaries within the ambit of the urban landscape development project
00:34In this conversation today, I have with me the Honourable Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Dato' Sri Maimunah Muhammad Sharif
00:43Dato' Sri, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us
00:45The idea here is to see how the TPKL 2040 is going to tie up with the RMK 13th
00:54that is going to be kicking off 1st January soon
00:59And we also understand that there's a lot of items that is within the transformation plan that we saw being launched very recently
01:08Could you describe to us how important this type of programme is when it comes to urban development
01:14and how we can see Kuala Lumpur to be the most liveable city in ASEAN in the years to come?
01:21Yeah, thank you so much for having me today
01:24And let me put the local plan of Kuala Lumpur 242 into a 3 perspective
01:32The first one is that in Malaysia, we have a very good planning system
01:38It started with RMK 13 or RMK 12 and then trickled down to the National Spatial Plan
01:45Then we have National Urbanisation Plan, National Industrial Plan
01:49And then at the Kuala Lumpur level, we have Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan
01:55And then trickled down into the Kuala Lumpur Local Plan
01:59Kuala Lumpur Local Plan is the lot-to-lot basis
02:02And I would like to put forward here is that
02:05Plan Tempatan Kuala Lumpur 2040 is not a DBKL plan per se
02:10It is our plan
02:12It is warga kota, I mean that the people were living in Kuala Lumpur's plan
02:18And also the investor's plan
02:20So meaning that this local plan is also created
02:24You can see it as the guidance to guide development
02:28With all the principle like sustainable, resilient, leaving no one behind, city for all
02:33And taking care of climate change
02:35And at the same time, there is also a planning control
02:39Meaning that the do's and the don'ts
02:41So we have around 176,000 plus lots, land lots in Kuala Lumpur
02:47Which is already identified
02:49What can we done?
02:50How much can you do?
02:51What is the density?
02:52What is the plot ratio?
02:53If the investors would like to come and invest in Kuala Lumpur
02:57There is a ready plan
02:59They can, if they want to buy a land
03:00They know that this is the land
03:02Zone for residential
03:03And the next door is zone for residential
03:05It will never be industry next to their development
03:08So meaning that this is also a guide
03:10And also a control for development
03:12It's very much linked to the RM13 and all the other national plans
03:16So it's like translation of the national policy into the local level
03:21At the Kuala Lumpur level
03:23But because of that, who owns the
03:27Where's the ownership then?
03:29If it's not say for instance the DBKL plan
03:31Is it at the Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Urban Development
03:37Or Ministry of Federal Territories
03:39Somebody must own this mega plan?
03:41Yeah, this local plan is of course is by
03:44Developed or formulated by DBKL
03:47But to me, it's owned by everybody
03:49Meaning that we are the custodian
03:52We are the one who whom that is any developer of anybody
03:56Would like to submit development in Kuala Lumpur
03:59They have to go through the process
04:00We are the one who are the custodian
04:03And we also the to make a decision
04:07Whether the plan or any new proposal for development
04:10Can be approved or not
04:11So meaning that in this case that PTKL 2040
04:15Is also custodian
04:16We are the custodian
04:17We have to make sure that we follow
04:19Because we are the local authority
04:21Which approve or decline or reject any development
04:25Or any proposal in the city
04:28But the plan is for everybody
04:31Let's say if you have a police of land in Kuala Lumpur
04:34You have to follow the zoning, the density, the plot ratio
04:38Whatever is translated or formulated in the plan
04:41Because when we prepare the plan
04:43We have gone through public participation
04:46We have gone through a process in 2019
04:49Go through the process
04:51If I am not mistaken
04:52Around 53 public engagement
04:54We received 28,000 inputs from the public
04:58So this is our plan
05:00This is people's plan
05:01But the custodian
05:03The plan of course belongs to the PTKL
05:06We are the custodian
05:08But actually to me this is investment plan
05:11Let's say if anyone who would like to go out of Malaysia
05:15To maybe for the business trip
05:18Please bring the local plan
05:20Because this is their plan
05:22The plan that when any investors
05:24Anybody who would like to invest in Kuala Lumpur
05:26They have to follow this plan as a guidance
05:30And I say that in a way that is to guide them
05:35And also as a plan to guide development
05:39And also to control development
05:41Clearly you are the woman of the hour
05:44If anybody is to execute such a plan as this
05:47It would be someone of your calibre
05:49You were the executive director of UN Habitat
05:52That was the last time we spoke together on air
05:54But a lot has moved on since
05:56You were the mayor of Penang
05:59Maybe a little bit of a test drive of what is to come
06:03Which is Kuala Lumpur
06:05And you can benchmark the kind of local plans
06:09That you are currently executing
06:11Against that of many other cities around the world
06:14That you've seen
06:15And with KL
06:17There are a lot of uniqueness and challenges
06:20That is salient towards this city as opposed to other cities
06:24But there are also many other similarities that KL has with other cities
06:29In fact when we talk about urban development plan
06:32We talk about zoning laws and the like
06:37These issues are seen in other cities as well
06:40Where do you see the challenges lie when it comes to executing a plan
06:44A long-term plan as this as opposed to
06:47You know the short-term measures
06:51And trying to you know maneuver the quick wins
06:56Where is the I guess pitfalls that you are very concerned about
07:00That you need to navigate very clearly
07:02And perhaps even communicate these kind of challenges to your stakeholders
07:06Yeah, thank you for that question
07:09When I was in the UN
07:10I had the opportunity to travel to a few cities
07:13And many of the capital cities in the world
07:16They are also facing the same challenges
07:21And the same more or less the same opportunities as Kuala Lumpur
07:25I'm not from Kuala Lumpur
07:27But after one year here
07:29I realized that all the challenges and all the opportunities are common
07:35For example like if you look at Kuala Lumpur
07:39Meaning that is what is actually that in Kuala Lumpur
07:43We have the local plan as you said
07:45But this local plan we have gone through to many ministries
07:50The ministry, all the Ministry of Environment, Transport was involved in the preparation
07:55And then it's also all the NGOs and all the developers and all the involved in the preparation
08:02So there are, in the plan, there are areas where the Ministry of Transport, for example, they have to take up at the
08:13Of course it's 2040, but they have to take up maybe the short term, the medium term and the long term
08:19For example, for DBKL for example, we also, you can see from the plan that the things that under us, for example like under our jurisdiction, for example like in public spaces
08:32We have our parks and we are in control of our parks and we are also in control of the public areas
08:40So for example, there is mention there, by 2040, we are, we hope to get, each of us will have a 20 square meters of public spaces
08:51So we need 4,700 hectares
08:55And then from there, we are also looking into how can we walk within the Kuala Lumpur
09:02Seamless connectivity, walking like in other cities like in New York or like in Paris or in London for that matter
09:10So that is within our local government, within Kuala Lumpur, within DBKL
09:15So what we did is that, we are, we have the green connector program
09:21And for the 2025 and 2026, we look at the local plan and we extract what can we do within the short time
09:32That's why we came up with five focus, plan led development
09:37And then in terms of inclusive community, green and green and clean and green
09:44And another one is on heritage and the fifth one is on the governance
09:49And we have 15 outcomes for 2025 and 2026
09:53And now we are preparing for the budget 2026
09:56So we are already, we use the local plan as a base
10:00Where can we, as a local government, as a DBKL, can implement
10:05We extract it, for example, like public spaces, housing, affordable housing
10:10We have the, we have the council housing
10:12And also the Lestari Niaga, I mean for the affordable hocus complex
10:17We, we are within us
10:19And also for the pavement and for smart city
10:22We are also involved in the, using AI, innovations and all that
10:27So, each of us actually, if you look at the plan
10:31You can extract actually your, under each ministry and each department jurisdiction
10:37And you can plan for the five year plan or for the yearly plan
10:43So I think it's very, very clear because the local plan is the implementation plan
10:48Sorry, I just need to go back to the statement that you said
10:53You are not from Kuala Lumpur
10:55I think many of, I don't know the numbers
10:57But I think 90% of Kuala Lumpur dwellers are not from Kuala Lumpur
11:00Yes, that's right
11:01They are from everywhere in Malaysia
11:02And I'm sure that big cities around the world also have that kind of demography
11:06But I think Kuala Lumpur has the most because of our, I would call it mid range distance from other big cities in Semenanjung at least
11:19And with the rise of East Malaysians coming over to find work and job opportunities here
11:27Clearly Kuala Lumpur is the melting pot of all this
11:29And when you say that all these ministries are, you know, they have, they can take a slice of their own jurisdiction and carry out their own yearly plan accordingly
11:37Your task of ensuring that each and every single jurisdiction, be it ministry or be it private companies who want to develop, whatever it is, the stakeholders can be
11:50It becomes monumentally important for you to keep track of what they take and also, of course, when I say take, keep track of what they want to execute according to the plan
12:00And also perhaps nudge them accordingly to keep track according to the plan
12:05And seeing that the Prime Minister is going to announce the budget in just a few weeks from now, I would assume much of the 2026 budget have been discussed and debated and everything is final at this point in time
12:18Are you comfortable with the kind of conversations that you've had with many of these stakeholders in executing the plan on a year-to-year basis?
12:26So, for instance, for 2026, are you happy with the kind of things that the stakeholders that you are talking to and working with, are they at least going according to the plan, so to speak?
12:36Yeah, what is formulated in the local plan actually is their proposal
12:43For example, look at the Ministry of Transport, they want to construct this road or monorail MRT, MR3
12:53So, actually, what is translated or formulated in the local plan in terms of the proposal map and the strategy actually is input from them
13:05Because we don't know their proposal, so when we prepare the local plan, we have a task force, we discuss with them what do you want to include in the local plan up to 2040?
13:19Actually, it's their input, so now it's their role to implement the plan according to the input that they give it to us because that proposal map or the local plan is a gazetted document
13:34Yeah
13:35If you want to change, we have to go through all the process again, so meaning that to me
13:40It's not just a strategic plan so to speak
13:41It's not a strategic plan so to speak
13:42Yeah, it's more than that, it's a law
13:44Because that is the third tier of the plan in terms of the planning system
13:48Yeah
13:49As I mentioned just now, because we have a very good planning system in a way that we have the national spatial plan, the whole country
13:55Trickle down to structure plan only for Kuala Lumpur or maybe if other state they have a Slango such a plan
14:01We have Kuala Lumpur such a plan, and then we have the local plan, we map up every lot in the Kuala Lumpur
14:08We have the zoning, we have the guidelines, we know the dues and the dues
14:13So to me, it's their duty because this is their input for them to implement the plan because the public are involved, the public are looking
14:22Hey, that time you say that you want to do this road and you told us you want to do this connecting road for next three years
14:30So make sure that they use that plan to ask for the budget for maybe one road, maybe it can be three, four years
14:38So I think this is for example that many of the construction of road and also for JPS, they want to deepen this river, they want to do this
14:47So this is very stipulated very clearly in the proposal plan of the local plan in Kuala Lumpur
14:54That's why from the beginning I said that this is not only the BKL plan, which is from everybody's plan
15:00Even the developer, they have a piece of land, they have a chandra style during the public engagement
15:06We plan to put it, let's say plot ratio of two, they have a chance to object
15:10Oh, I don't want two, I want one or I want five
15:13Then we have a Jatan Kuasa, the need to look into that, the committee to look into that
15:18So this is not only for the BKL, it's also for the developer to do, when they want to submit their plan, they have to follow
15:26And also for the government, where they want to apply for the budget for 2026, 2027
15:31To me this is their plan, they have to follow this plan
15:34So it's not so much that we have to enforce upon them, because when they want to develop, they want to construct the road, they have to go through us
15:45Because we are the one under the law, the authority to give the planning approval
15:51So if they would like to develop the road, suddenly it's not in the plan
15:55It's very difficult to get it approved, unless you change the plan
15:58And conversely, if it's well within the plan, it should be straight forward
16:02It should be straight forward, yes
16:03Okay, we'll go for a short break, when we come back we'll discuss a little bit more with the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur
16:06To talk a little bit more about tourism, SEC10, and how this falls into the 13th Malaysia Plan
16:11We'll be right back after these messages
16:29Thanks for staying on with us, I have with me the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur
16:32Without much ado, I want to move on to the second part of the conversation in terms of tourism of Kuala Lumpur
16:37Synonymous with the name of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is the only city that many of the foreigners would know
16:44I would like to argue that there was a particular study that was done by Travelpedia
16:51That when it comes to brand recognition, Kuala Lumpur is much more known than the name of Malaysia
16:56This is the bizarre thing about the branding of Kuala Lumpur
16:59And, you know, I would like to argue, you know, when it comes to sports, for instance
17:05We have so many cities in Malaysia that have, you know, better sports brand recognition to their city
17:11As opposed to Kuala Lumpur
17:12Kuala Lumpur FC, for instance, while good in its own right, is not like, say for instance, JDT
17:18When we talk about the Kuala Lumpur Literary Festival
17:24It's there, but it's not as big as the Georgetown Literary Festival
17:28I can go on with all this branding and name recognition
17:32And I'm sure this is something at the back of your mind, being the Mayor of Penang
17:36And trying to see what works, what doesn't work, what could be the opportunities and so on
17:40And then, of course, KL as a tourism centre as well
17:44Unmistakable, greatest malls, if not in South Asia, perhaps in Asia altogether
17:49No problems there, we've seen all the skyscrapers from, you know, 118 to TRX
17:54And of course, the one and only KLCC
17:58How do you see and transition from what we have to what we could be?
18:02And is this within the plan of the PT2040?
18:06Yeah, yeah, tourism is one of the areas I think that is need to be communicated well
18:13As you know, yes, it's already known that where you're going to Kuala Lumpur
18:18But how can we retain the tourists to stay longer in Kuala Lumpur?
18:24What can they do in Kuala Lumpur?
18:26That is also, as you said, that is one of...
18:28And spend
18:29Yeah, and spend
18:30And stay and spend
18:31So, that is also a question
18:33When I came in last year as a Mayor of Kuala Lumpur
18:37Then I asked my colleague who said that, what is nice of Kuala Lumpur?
18:41Because when I was small, I said I came here, then it's Dataran Merdeka
18:45Then I went to Benteng for food
18:47You know, that reminds me, you know
18:49And then I said that I went to museum and all those places, Dataran Merdeka
18:54So, I said that, what is actually that...
18:57Give me three things why people should visit Kuala Lumpur
19:00So, actually, the answer...
19:04I gathered much of the answer when last month when I had the Mayor's...
19:09ASEAN Mayor's Forum
19:11And ASEAN Mayor's and Governors Forum
19:14Three in one, then I and also ASEAN Governors and Mayor's Capital City meeting
19:20Which I chair
19:21And I asked the mayors who came, around 300 mayors came to Kuala Lumpur
19:27I said that...
19:28Do you like Kuala Lumpur?
19:29I said, yes!
19:30It's beautiful!
19:31What do you like about Kuala Lumpur?
19:33He said, Kuala Lumpur is clean and green
19:35Okay
19:36Then I said, clean and green?
19:37I said, yes!
19:38Your city is very clean and it's very green
19:41Sometimes, when we stay here, we take things for granted
19:45I said, why do you say it's green?
19:47Oh, I went to the political garden
19:50Then I walked down to Dataramadeka
19:53Then I went to Titi Wangsa
19:55I went to Tugu
19:56It's very green compared to other cities
19:58Yeah
19:59So, I think there is a plus point
20:02That we need
20:03And also, it's a lot of heritage
20:05The diversity, the culture, the people
20:07And they said that
20:08Oh, I went to Jalan Alo to eat
20:10And then I went to shopping
20:12So, you have it all
20:13He said that
20:14You have it all
20:15You have the green
20:16You have the food
20:17You have the culture
20:18And he said that
20:19The city is clean
20:20And the people is very friendly
20:22So, I think this is also a thing that we need to
20:26To really make it into a package
20:29And because I think that's the reason why
20:31The young Amak Berhormat Prime Minister launched the Warisan Kuala Lumpur
20:35Kuala Lumpur Heritage in June this year
20:38And around 20 square kilometer
20:40It's just next to our areas
20:42And that's why we spent some money
20:44Under Khazanah
20:46On the bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad
20:48Kalkosa
20:49You know
20:50And then Sri Negara
20:51And we on our side
20:52On the Dataramadeka
20:54And also the parking
20:55And the facilities
20:56So, I think
20:57Tourism
20:59One of the areas that
21:01Instead of
21:02Rather than just tourism to come here
21:04And in it
21:05It's also medical tourism
21:06Yeah
21:07Education tourism
21:08Because medical
21:09I think that people come here
21:10Because our medical facilities are very good
21:12And also education
21:13You know the strange thing about this
21:14Is that
21:15I have some friends from Indonesia
21:17They equate Penang as the medical tourism
21:20I don't know why or how
21:21Yes
21:22And you know
21:23There are two things that
21:24I don't commonly hear from Malaysians
21:26Penang as a medical hub
21:27And Kuala Lumpur as seen as green
21:29Even though you're right
21:30Even though you're right
21:31I completely agree
21:32We take things for granted
21:33When you said that
21:34I was trying to benchmark
21:35Say for instance Bangkok
21:36And Manila
21:37And Jakarta
21:38Okay lah I won't say Singapore
21:39But
21:40Yeah of course
21:41We're greener than
21:42These big metropolitan cities
21:43Because of that
21:44Do you see it as important
21:46For that public private partnership
21:48To come in place
21:49And the relationship
21:50Say for instance
21:51When it comes to medical tourism
21:52The Minister of Health
21:54Also has to play a major role in this
21:56Clearly these are all monumental tasks
21:58And to a certain degree
22:00There's only so much
22:01That DBKL can do
22:02But
22:03Debaten has to be carried
22:04By other players as well
22:05Exactly
22:06That's why
22:07I introduced the principle of 4P
22:10Public
22:11Private
22:12People partnership
22:13Public is us
22:15Public is the ministry
22:16Private is private sector
22:17We need to work with private sector
22:19And the people
22:20Without the people's
22:21Participation
22:23Or engagement
22:24Even though we have the money
22:25We have the private sector
22:26Sometimes
22:27If they don't like it
22:28They don't like it
22:29So I think the 4P
22:30Principle public
22:31Private people partnership
22:32Is very very important
22:33In Kuala Lumpur
22:34Because as you said correctly
22:35There are certain things
22:36That only we can do
22:37As the DBKL
22:38But we need to
22:40Galvanize
22:41We need to encourage
22:42The private sector
22:43To work together with us
22:44That's why
22:45I
22:46First thing
22:47That I came here
22:48To Kuala Lumpur
22:49Then I asked my colleagues
22:50That
22:51Get me
22:52The president of
22:53Malay
22:54Chamber of Commerce
22:55Indian Chamber of Commerce
22:56Chinese Chamber of Commerce
22:57Do you have it?
22:58Oh Datuk Seri
22:59Let me check
23:00So I think it's not ready
23:01So I already met
23:03All the Chamber of Commerce
23:04In one
23:05I already met
23:06All the real estate
23:07I already met
23:08The professional bodies
23:10And I even
23:11Have a
23:13Breakfast
23:14Mayors
23:15With the ambassadors
23:16Of all the ambassadors
23:17Who reside here
23:18Together with
23:19Invest Kuala Lumpur
23:20So how
23:21Can we work together
23:22With them
23:23That's why
23:24We introduce
23:25The adoption
23:26Project
23:27Meaning that
23:28The private sector
23:29Adopt our public spaces
23:30The private sector
23:31Adopt our street
23:32The private sector
23:33Adopt our back lane
23:35So that
23:36They are together
23:37We are going to do
23:39Platform Bukit Bintang
23:40In terms of lighting
23:42For the need
23:44And we are also
23:45You see that
23:46It's the big mural
23:47Along the way
23:48That is all
23:49Public private
23:50And we are also
23:51Involved with the community
23:52On the urban farming
23:53The food bank
23:54The clearliness
23:55You are giving me
23:57Yes
23:58An impression
23:59That you are a mayor
24:00In a hurry
24:01And you are a mayor
24:02That is having a very
24:03Insatiable appetite
24:04To make things work
24:05And for the first time ever
24:08I am telling you now
24:09I believe that
24:10This is the most positive sign
24:12That I am getting
24:13From a mayor
24:14I have interviewed
24:15Two mayor
24:16Your predecessors
24:17That they have not
24:18The slightest urgency
24:20In their tone
24:21But with you
24:22It seems like
24:23All the people need to
24:24Are they
24:26In the same journey
24:27With you
24:28Or do you feel
24:29That they can
24:30Hurry up along as well
24:31Yes
24:32They give me
24:33The full support
24:34Especially
24:35My people
24:36The DBKL staff
24:38I need to gain
24:39Their trust
24:40I need to lead
24:41I need to show
24:42Them the way
24:43So I think
24:44I am
24:45Thanks God
24:46Alhamdulillah
24:47That I receive
24:48The very good
24:50Cooperation
24:51From my own people
24:52I have 9,400
24:53You see
24:54There are a lot of things
24:55That can be done
24:56I am sorry
24:57Wow
24:589,400
24:59I didn't think
25:00It was that big
25:01And then
25:02Recently
25:03I created
25:04One body called
25:07SPEED
25:08S-P-E-A-D
25:09Surveyors, planners, engineers, architects, developers
25:12Because
25:14With them
25:15I said
25:16Let us
25:17Discuss
25:18How can we
25:19Implement the local plan
25:20This is your local plan
25:21How can we
25:22Implement the local plan
25:23Let's work together
25:24Then I also
25:25Recently
25:26Yesterday
25:27I went for the
25:28KLCCC
25:29Sustainable September
25:31Then I called upon them
25:32Please
25:33Can all you
25:34In the KLCC
25:35You are here
25:36You are the CEO
25:37Of all this big
25:38Can you work together
25:39With me
25:40I said that
25:41I have a project
25:42Called Green Connector
25:43I want to connect
25:45I said
25:46TRX
25:47With 118
25:48With KLCC
25:49And also
25:50With the
25:51Data America
25:52Seamless
25:53That you can walk
25:54You can stroll
25:55You can stroll
25:56Your baby stroller
25:57You can walk without
25:58Any interruption
25:59And nice
26:00That is it
26:01Yes
26:02Let's do it
26:03Then I'm next week
26:04I'm calling for a meeting
26:05And I have also
26:06Meeting with
26:07UOB
26:08CEO
26:09I said
26:10Let's do something
26:11In front of our office
26:12Your headquarters
26:13They are just here behind us
26:14Yes
26:15And it's beautiful office
26:16Then
26:17Ms. Ng Wei Wei said
26:18Let's do it
26:19And I already form
26:20A task force
26:21So we are
26:22We are now
26:23Doing something
26:24So I said
26:25Yes I am the
26:26Mayor in the hurry
26:27Because I think
26:28I have not enough time
26:29But I don't have time
26:30I'm sorry
26:31I have to
26:32I have to also
26:33Ask this question
26:34Yes
26:35Dato Sri
26:36Last week you issued
26:37A statement
26:38To support
26:39DBKL being
26:41Open
26:42Transparent
26:43Having high integrity
26:44Yes
26:45There was a
26:46Case
26:47All currently still happening
26:48Yes
26:49Where the
26:50Malaysian Anti-Corruption
26:51Commission
26:53Has
26:55Taken action
26:56Against very senior
26:57People inside DBKL
26:58And while there are noises out there
27:01I
27:02Take it as good
27:03Because this is exactly
27:04What we need
27:05Alright
27:06You can't get the things done
27:09If your own situation
27:10And your own people
27:11Are having some issues as well
27:13And of course
27:14In the five pillars
27:15That you spoke of just now
27:16You spoke about governance
27:17Being the key
27:18So
27:19Yeah
27:20Corruption is one thing
27:21Or anti-corruption
27:22Trying to get the processes done
27:24To optimize operational efficiency
27:26Is another
27:27Then there is also
27:28Legitimacy and mandate
27:29Now
27:30This is outside of your ambit
27:31When we come
27:32When it comes to local council elections
27:33Or electoral mayor systems
27:35And the like
27:36It is well within your powers
27:37But what do you see
27:39Or what would you like to share
27:40When it comes to these kind of topics
27:42That some are within your area of concern
27:45Some is outside
27:46What's your general statement
27:48When it comes to these governance issues
27:50To me
27:51It is
27:52In order for any
27:54Organisation
27:56To excel
27:58There are at least three things
28:01One is leadership
28:03Second is capacity
28:04Capacity
28:05It can be funding
28:06It can be expertise
28:08The third
28:09Is governance
28:11So
28:12When you talk about governance
28:13You talk about integrity
28:15Integrity
28:16I always mention
28:17Integrity is not only corruption
28:19Integrity
28:20You come to the office
28:22You do what you are supposed to do
28:24According to the SOP
28:25And according to the rules and the regulation
28:27If you have to come
28:29And punch card at 8 o'clock
28:31You have to come at 8 o'clock
28:33If you have to do the work from 8 to 5
28:35And there is a break
28:36One hour for lunch
28:37Do that
28:38Because I used to tell them
28:40If let's say your pay is 5,000 a month
28:43Divided by 30 days
28:45How much is it?
28:46Divided by
28:4724 hours
28:49How much it is
28:50That you
28:51The people
28:52I mean the people's money
28:53Pay you
28:54Per hour
28:55Per second
28:56Per minute
28:57At the end of the day
28:58You think back
28:59Did I worth that much?
29:01Did I do something good?
29:02So I think this integrity
29:04Is very very important
29:06Of course corruption is one of it
29:08But through that we can see
29:10In terms of good governance
29:11We have to look into the very clear SOP
29:14Very clear rules and regulation
29:16That's why I am looking at all the SOP
29:19And also we have a retreat
29:21Our administration retreat
29:24Looking at the SOP
29:25Looking at the regulation
29:27And how can we strengthen
29:29How can we plug the loophole
29:31If there is any
29:32Because it's
29:33Some of them are very old
29:35Guarish banduan
29:36Or guidelines and all that
29:37So I think to me
29:38It's like
29:39Looking
29:40Talking to them
29:41And we also have
29:42We are very lucky
29:43Because we have the integrity
29:45Department
29:46In the beginning
29:47Not many local government
29:48Have the integrity department
29:49And
29:50Is it meant by SPRM
29:51The hit is hit by the SPRM officer
29:54So I think we try our best
29:56So
29:57But
29:58When you mention about
29:59What things happen
30:00That is
30:01That's why I said that
30:02I gave full cooperation
30:04To SPRM
30:06For anything that they found
30:08In our office
30:09And you are very open about it
30:10Very open about it
30:11I am very open about it
30:12In fact
30:13During my first day
30:14On the 15th of August last year
30:16On the day itself
30:18Then I came in
30:20Six of my
30:21Of the DBKL staff
30:22Was charged
30:23In court
30:24Of corruption
30:25Six of them
30:26On the day
30:27On the very day
30:28Talk about
30:29An inaugurating
30:30Movement for you
30:31Entering the office
30:32Yes
30:33And then one question
30:34Asked by the
30:35By the reporter
30:36I said that
30:37What is your stand
30:38On corruption
30:40I don't know
30:41Because I am only
30:42The first day
30:43I don't know
30:44So I said that
30:45Zero tolerance
30:46So
30:47To me
30:48Local
30:49Consolation
30:50Local
30:51Consolation
30:52I think
30:53For example
30:54In the
30:55BKL
30:56We have the
30:57Capital Act
30:58If you want a
30:59Local
31:00Local
31:01Election
31:02They have a long process
31:03They have to amend the Act
31:04I am not talking about the process
31:05But the notion of it
31:06The idea of it
31:07The idea of it
31:08I think
31:09In many cities
31:10In many cities
31:11I have spoken to
31:12Few cities
31:13Who have the
31:14Local election
31:15They are pro and con
31:16The first
31:17He said that
31:18You have an election
31:19And then
31:20People elect
31:21The
31:22Mayors
31:23And then the
31:24Mayors are
31:25The choice of the
31:26Of the people
31:27But when
31:29On the other side
31:30This is a real story
31:31He said that
31:32Mayor
31:33At that time
31:34I was in Executive Director
31:35UN Habitat
31:36When I asked
31:37As Executive Director
31:38I have to sell
31:39My house
31:40I have to sell
31:41My car
31:42In order
31:43For me
31:44To have
31:45Certain amount
31:46Of
31:47Funding
31:48Political funding
31:49To be
31:50The mayor
31:51To be the mayor
31:52To be
31:53Into the
31:55System
31:56To be elected
31:57To be in the system
31:58Of the election
31:59As a mayor
32:00So meaning that
32:01There are also
32:02Cases
32:03That
32:04I mean
32:05It's a lot of
32:06What they call it
32:08Funding
32:09And when
32:10Come to the
32:11To the
32:12To the
32:13Election
32:14So there are
32:15Also sometimes
32:16That
32:17When I was in the
32:18UN
32:19I was wondering
32:20Why
32:21Why the member states
32:22Sometimes
32:23They reluctant
32:24To deal together
32:25With the
32:26Local government
32:27Because the local government
32:28Is their opposition
32:29Oh
32:30Opposition to the national
32:31Got it
32:32I understand
32:33You understand
32:34So if it is
32:35Let's say
32:36The government
32:37If it is appointed
32:38The national government
32:40Have five years
32:41Say they appoint
32:42The people
32:43To whom they think
32:44They can work with
32:45They can promote
32:46Implement their policy
32:47Something like
32:48Something like
32:49The labour government
32:50In the UK
32:52The city is run
32:53By say the labour
32:54But the national
32:55Is a supporting party
32:56And that
32:57Therein lies the issue
32:59But all in all
33:01Do you support
33:03Electoral
33:05Mayorship
33:06Or
33:07Do you think
33:08That
33:09Malaysia needs to
33:10Mature into it
33:11To me
33:12To me
33:13I have the
33:14I have the
33:15Opportunity to work
33:17In the UN
33:19And looking at that
33:21And looking at that
33:22I think
33:23That Malaysia
33:24The present system
33:26To me
33:27It works well
33:28It works well
33:29And
33:30The only thing is that
33:33We need to
33:35Implement
33:36What we preach
33:38What we say
33:39And PTKL 2040
33:41Yes
33:42One of the testament
33:43Yes
33:44Okay
33:45We'll go for one short break
33:46When we come back
33:47Issue right now
33:48About Kuala Lumpur
33:49Which is trying to make this
33:50Into a financial hub
33:51Of the region
33:52We'll be right back
33:53After these messages
34:11Thanks for staying on with us
34:12We're in this extended interview
34:13With the mayor of Kuala Lumpur
34:15The financial district of Kuala Lumpur
34:17Is going to be the big topic of the day
34:19Some of the names
34:20Some of the parties that you spoke of
34:21Are very critical
34:22Including
34:23Private banks
34:25Including
34:26The financial hubs that we have
34:28Right now
34:29TRX for instance
34:30And many more
34:32Do you see Kuala Lumpur
34:34Talent is something of my ambit
34:36In my current workplace
34:38At the Minister of Economy
34:39That is completely understandable
34:41But in terms of the infra
34:42And the facilities that is being provided
34:44Do you think that Kuala Lumpur
34:45Has what it takes
34:46In fact
34:47What would be the additional factor
34:49That needs to be brought into place
34:51And within the powers of say for instance
34:52DBKL and local government
34:54To make sure that
34:55Kuala Lumpur continues to be
34:56The unassailable champion of
34:58The financial services hub for this region
35:01And perhaps even super scale
35:03What Singapore is trying to do right now
35:05Because I think that would be the main competitor for us
35:07In this topic
35:08Yeah
35:09I think from what I see
35:11That Kuala Lumpur
35:12Have all the infrastructure
35:15To be the financial hub of financial sector
35:20Compared to other cities
35:22I think we have the infrastructure
35:25We have the talent
35:26I think what we need
35:28Is that
35:29How can we governise
35:30How can we improve further
35:32In terms of the infrastructure
35:34And also the talent that we have
35:36Because in Kuala Lumpur
35:39In Kuala Lumpur
35:40Let's say you compare to other cities
35:42Like in New York
35:43In Singapore
35:44So I think we
35:46You look around
35:47When you
35:49When I ask the same question
35:52To the mayors
35:54During the ASEAN Mayors Forum
35:56They said that
35:57You have everything
35:58So what we really need
36:01Is that
36:02We really need to make it work
36:04For example
36:06We have the
36:07Well
36:08TRX
36:09118
36:10KLCC
36:11And all the headquarters of bank
36:14All the data centre
36:15Are here
36:16I think we are
36:18In the right
36:19And for DBKL
36:20Our duty is that
36:21When these investors coming in
36:23For example
36:24The investor for the data centre coming in
36:27Our duty is that
36:28How can we
36:30Provide the enabling environment
36:33What enabling environment here is that
36:36How can they invest here fast
36:38How can the decision of the planning approval
36:41Can make it fast
36:42Because
36:43For a business
36:44Every second
36:45Every day
36:46Counts
36:47So the fast approval
36:48That's why we
36:49Embark into the
36:50One stop centre 3.0
36:52OAC online
36:54Meaning that
36:55Anywhere in the world
36:56You don't need to come to DBKL
36:58To submit your planning application
37:02If you want to have
37:04To develop
37:05A data centre here
37:06You can be in New York
37:07As long as you have internet
37:09You can submit your plan
37:10And you can process
37:11And we make it very clear
37:13That we
37:14If all complied
37:15We will do it very
37:16In short time
37:17So I think that is the enabling factor
37:20Approval
37:21At the same time
37:22It's also the infrastructure
37:23And at the same time
37:24We also become the facilitator
37:27I used to tell my colleague
37:28Don't be a frustrator
37:30We have to be a facilitator
37:31For that
37:32They can facilitate
37:33If they need
37:34I'm sorry
37:35But DBKL has been
37:36A source of frustration for me
37:38At times
37:39At times
37:40I hope that you can see
37:41Yeah
37:42The changes
37:43Here
37:44Definitely
37:45And I'd like to point out
37:46Right
37:47It's been a year
37:48Since you took office
37:50Looking back
37:51These past 12 months
37:53Are you happy with
37:54Your own progress
37:55I'm asking you to
37:56Self-criticise yourself
37:57Right now
37:58I think
37:59From an outsider
38:00Not many
38:01Would have
38:02You know
38:03Something poor to say
38:04About what your performance
38:05Have been for the past year
38:06But you yourself
38:07At your own standard
38:08Because
38:09Just to remind everyone
38:10Dato' Sri Maimunah
38:12Is the first Malaysian
38:13To be elevated
38:14To the executive director
38:16Office
38:17The first Asia
38:18The first Asia
38:19Thank you
38:20Let alone women
38:21And every step of the way
38:23You're always
38:24You know trailblazing
38:25The first woman
38:26The first Malaysian
38:27The first woman
38:28The first Malaysian
38:29Everywhere we go
38:30And some of my colleagues
38:31From Awani went to
38:32I can't pronounce the word
38:33In Poland
38:34Katawise
38:35Yes
38:36And they were all
38:37At all
38:38With how you held your ground
38:39There
38:40And they tell me about it
38:41Right
38:42Back in Mkid Jalil
38:43And
38:44Clearly you would be your own
38:48Hushest critic
38:49I would argue
38:50And
38:51When the Prime Minister
38:52And the government
38:53Appointed you as the Mayor
38:54Of KL
38:55Everybody thought that
38:56You were over qualified
38:57For the job I suppose
38:58Because of your pedigree
38:59But
39:00Looking back after one year
39:01Are you happy with yourself?
39:03Yes
39:04I'm happy within the environment
39:07That I'm in
39:08When I came in
39:10I have my plan
39:12But
39:13Allah
39:14Is a big planner
39:16On the third day I'm here
39:18I was here
39:19Banjay
39:21Flooding
39:22It's the first test
39:23On the fifth day
39:24Singhole
39:25Singhole
39:26I have my plan
39:27Oh
39:28That was on the fifth day
39:29On the fifth day
39:30On the first week
39:31As a Mayor
39:32Singhole
39:33I have my plan
39:34I have a plan
39:35Oh what I want to do
39:36Within the first week
39:37Second week
39:38Third week
39:39Very beautiful plan
39:40Before I
39:41Step in
39:42Into the DBKL
39:43On the
39:44On the
39:4515th of August
39:46But God
39:47Allah
39:48Said okay
39:49Third you have to handle
39:50With the flood
39:51On the fifth
39:52You have to handle
39:53With the
39:54Singhole
39:55But looking back
39:56Within all this
39:57I said the environment
39:58That I'm facing
39:59And the situation
40:01I'm happy
40:03I'm happy
40:04With
40:05What I
40:06Achieve
40:07But I hope
40:08I can achieve more
40:09But
40:10Of course
40:11There is also
40:12Limitation
40:13And sometimes
40:14During the
40:15I would like to do
40:16More
40:17But at the same time
40:18When I was in the
40:20In the
40:212024
40:22I'm
40:23Implementing
40:24The
40:25Budget
40:26Which is approved
40:27By the previous
40:28I'm following through
40:29But 2025
40:30I have my own
40:31Way of
40:32Dealing
40:33With the
40:34Budget
40:35Even that
40:362025
40:37When I came in
40:38It's already halfway
40:39The discussion
40:40Of the budget
40:41But 2026
40:42Next year
40:43Will be my own
40:44This year
40:45Will be my own
40:46And on top of that
40:47It's RMK13
40:48So I think
40:49Within this limitation
40:50Within the
40:51The environment
40:52I'm quite happy
40:54With what I
40:55Achieve
40:56For example
40:57When you talk about
40:58The Prime Minister
40:59Talking about
41:00Let's study Niagara
41:01I managed to complete
41:03All those project
41:04Which was delayed
41:05And then now
41:06People are already
41:07Moving in
41:08Talking about
41:09The Rumah Madani
41:10I managed to
41:11Clear up
41:12All the
41:13The backlog
41:14And now
41:15The Rumah Madani
41:16Is under construction
41:17Some will be completed
41:18This year
41:19Some next year
41:20And also
41:21In terms of
41:22The backlog
41:23Of the development control
41:24When I came in
41:25It was around
41:261,738 plans
41:28Still
41:29There is no
41:30Decision
41:31To clear it up
41:32In December
41:332024
41:34So I think
41:35That is
41:36And also
41:37I came up
41:38With the
41:39Five focus
41:40And very focus
41:41And 15 outcomes
41:42Very focus
41:43And all the KPI
41:44So I hope
41:45That by end of this year
41:46I can get all the results
41:47And then
41:48Every three months
41:49I send
41:50I send
41:51My report
41:52To the Prime Minister
41:54Quarterly report
41:55The first report
41:56I just sent
41:57Between May
41:58To July
42:01Reports
42:02To him
42:03Then I can share it with you
42:04And what
42:05I am very very happy
42:06Is that
42:07In terms of
42:08The funding
42:09In terms of
42:10The financial situation
42:11Over the while
42:132022
42:142023
42:15All deficit
42:16In 2024
42:17When we close
42:18The financial statement
42:21We are in the
42:22In the surplus
42:23Of around
42:2427 million
42:25So meaning
42:26That is
42:27Surplus
42:2827 million
42:29Or before that
42:30Is all
42:31Deficit
42:322022 deficit
42:332023 deficit
42:34This is what I am saying
42:35You might be overqualified for the job
42:36I am saying it in a good way
42:37You know what I mean
42:38But
42:39But
42:40The correlation
42:41And the interrelationship
42:42Between the Prime Minister
42:43And the Mayor of KL
42:44That is one thing
42:45That is one role
42:46Then there is also
42:47The Federal Tetrisp Minister
42:48I am asking on behalf
42:49Of Malaysians right now
42:50And the dichotomy
42:51Between the roles
42:52And functions
42:53Of all these
42:54Ministerial powers
42:55Where does
42:56The Federal Territories
42:57Minister sit
42:58In terms of
42:59The governance element
43:00And reporting element
43:01Of the City Hall of Kuala Lumpur
43:02I think
43:03The way
43:04The Minister
43:05Of Federal Territories
43:06Sit
43:07Is very very clear
43:08In the Act
43:09In the Capital Act
43:10Because
43:11He is the Minister
43:12He is looking at
43:13The policy
43:14And
43:15Another one
43:16Of the session
43:17I cannot remember
43:18I think session 13
43:19The Minister
43:20Of the Federal Territories
43:21They handle
43:22The policy level
43:23And there is also
43:24That they can give
43:25Instruction
43:26To the Mayor
43:27And the Mayor
43:28And the Mayor
43:29Have to implement it
43:30So I think this is very clear
43:31Where is the
43:32And such as the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur
43:33Is the Mayor of Federal Territories
43:34Putrajaya
43:35Is very clear in the
43:39In the Capital Act
43:40Of course in
43:41For Putrajaya
43:42They have their own Act
43:43But as far as DBKL
43:44Is very clear
43:45Stipulated very clearly
43:46Okay
43:47Final question to you
43:48Dato' Sri
43:49Is the
43:50Perennial problems
43:51Of flood
43:52Mitigation
43:53You were talking about that as well
43:54Earlier on
43:55Environment issues
43:57And many more
43:58I know these problems
43:59Sorry
44:00These environmental issues
44:01And making Kuala Lumpur green
44:03And all this is an ongoing story
44:05But of all the things that you have on your CV
44:08I trust you the most
44:10Because of UN Habitat
44:11Are we too far away
44:13From getting Kuala Lumpur
44:16Free of floods
44:18Or do you feel that
44:19We're nearly there
44:20In terms of flood mitigating
44:22In Kuala Lumpur
44:23On flood mitigation
44:25When I came in
44:26There are around
44:2830 hotspot
44:30Flood hotspot
44:31End of 2024
44:34Left 20
44:35Okay
44:36And I told my colleague
44:37By end of 2025
44:39I wanted to reduce into 10
44:40Okay
44:41By next year
44:42Maybe reduce more
44:43So I'm not sure
44:44Maybe you're out there
44:45Maybe you can see
44:46That it's last time
44:47When the heavy rain
44:48It was always flooding
44:49But now
44:50It's not me
44:51Who said that
44:52But it's the people
44:53Who came to see me
44:54And also through social media
44:55They said that
44:56Even though it's heavy rain
44:57We'll suddenly see
44:58Flooding
44:59Very heavy flooding
45:00For example
45:01Last time
45:02In October
45:0328 October
45:04Last year
45:05I was in my office
45:06Heavy rain
45:07At that time
45:08Parliament
45:09They cannot go into the parliament
45:10But now
45:11Heavy rain
45:12You can go there
45:13So meaning that
45:14We
45:15I'm thankful to the national government
45:16The federal government
45:17They gave me 80 million
45:18For the flood mitigation
45:2020 million last year
45:212024
45:22And 60 million in 2025
45:24And we're implementing it
45:25Flood mitigation
45:26We're also doing
45:27Working together with SW Corp
45:30And Alam Flora
45:31Working together with JPS
45:32As I said the integrated approach
45:34To see that
45:35How can we reduce
45:36The flooding
45:38In Kuala Lumpur
45:39And I'm
45:40I'm very very confident
45:41That with all this flood mitigation
45:43Not only by the BKL
45:44By SW Corp
45:45By cleaning up the river
45:46By cleaning up the river
45:47And also by JPS
45:48Deepening the need
45:49And by putting up the flood wall
45:53And all that
45:54I believe that
45:55We can reduce
45:57The occurrence of flooding
46:00In Kuala Lumpur
46:01In Kuala Lumpur
46:02And I
46:03Does all these
46:04Things that we discussed
46:05Are seen or discussed
46:10In the Urban Renewal Act
46:11The one that was postponed
46:13In the parliament
46:14And are you involved in that conversation?
46:16I involved at the later stage
46:18Because it was discussed
46:19Much earlier
46:20Before I joined DBKL
46:22Alright
46:23Thank you very much
46:25Dato' Sri
46:26For taking the time
46:27To speak with us
46:28We discussed a lot of issues
46:29Thank you
46:30Thank you
46:31But we would like to have you again
46:32Maybe next year
46:33For sure
46:34To talk about the progress of
46:35DBKL
46:36If you want to learn more
46:37About the work of Dato' Sri Maimunah
46:38There's a lot of conversations
46:40That can be found on her
46:41On our site
46:42At srawani.com
46:43You can also find out more
46:44About the work of DBKL
46:46Also on our site
46:47Especially with the upcoming
46:49ASEAN Summit
46:50That's going to happen very soon
46:52But for now
46:53We take a break on this
46:54And continue on
46:55With the following programs
46:56Catch you in the next one
46:57And I'll see you in the next one
46:58.
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