- 6 weeks ago
On this Merdeka Special, NIAGA SPOTLIGHT looks at Urban Renewal Economics and the next chapter for Downtown Kuala Lumpur: culture and the creative economy as drivers of growth, restoring heritage assets for productive use, community-led regeneration, accessibility — all while centring and benefitting existing KL residents.
Tehmina Kaoosji speaks with Izan Satrina Mohd Sallehuddin, Senior Director at Think City, about building a capital that can grow economically while remaining liveable, inclusive and distinctly Malaysian.
Tehmina Kaoosji speaks with Izan Satrina Mohd Sallehuddin, Senior Director at Think City, about building a capital that can grow economically while remaining liveable, inclusive and distinctly Malaysian.
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00:08Hello, I'm Tamina Kausji and this is Nyaga Spotlight. Today in conjunction with Merdeka,
00:13our spotlight falls on urban renewal economics. Now Merdeka is of course all about nationhood
00:18and belonging and few places tell this story quite like Kuala Lumpur itself. The capital
00:24city holds history, livelihoods and is a reflection of national ambitions. Billions flowing into
00:31continued development makes the city dynamic. Heritage spaces, they find new life, culture
00:37creates economic value and communities reclaim parts of the city as their own. But renewal also
00:43has to reach the people already in Kuala Lumpur. So can we build a Kuala Lumpur that attracts investment
00:50and opportunity while remaining livable, accessible and unmistakably ours? Well,
00:57Izan Satrina Mohamed Salehuddin, Senior Director at ThinkCity, joins us live in the studios for this
01:02Merdeka conversation on Nyaga Spotlight. Izan, a very warm welcome to Nyaga Spotlight.
01:09Salamahari Merdeka.
01:10Thank you. Thank you for having me, Tamina and Astro and Salamahari Merdeka to everyone watching
01:15us today. Fantastic. So, Izan, if we could get started off with the fact that now downtown KL
01:20definitely has plenty of heritage buildings. There's also long established businesses and
01:25communities that have been there for generations. But at the same time, we now have a lot of newer
01:31cultural and commercial users too. Tell us a little more about moving beyond the usual urban
01:38renewal dynamics, which often look at, of course, the physical city, very important. But at the same
01:44time, it's also about ensuring the social and economic networks that are already there alongside
01:50are equally able to thrive, right? So, thank you for the introduction. I'm Izan and I come from an
01:57organization that specializes in urban impact. It's a wholly-owned subsidiary under Kazana. And we look
02:04into making cities livable, whether it's from a heritage, arts and culture perspective, urban
02:08regeneration and placemaking, environment and social resilience, in addition to place management
02:15and activation. So, when we talk about downtown KL and we talk about heritage, we must understand
02:21the definition of heritage. It is tangible and intangible. So, it's easier to see what's tangible
02:28because it's physically there. But what we inherit as well, I think the layers of urban fabric that you
02:35have also pointed out is equally key. Memories, stories, traditions, the relationship between people
02:45and buildings and what makes the spirit of the place, semangat tempat, is very key. So, that, I think,
02:51is the essence of how ThinkCity operates. And we work on helping to improve the city through the
03:02revitalization of downtown KL. So, generally, we look at three aspects, right? How do we continue
03:09the social dividends and the communities there? Because there's no point if you rejuvenate the place
03:16and the communities that originally stayed there are no longer inhabiting the place. So,
03:22the essence and identity of the city has changed. So, community continuity is key.
03:28I think the other component is commerce continuity, making sure there is a collaborative ecosystem
03:35in the city. So, when improvements are done, we actually order from Makcik to supply us
03:42for the meetings or using a local printer. So, how do you make sure you have the local ecosystem
03:50supporting you? So, commerce continuity is key. And lastly, we also have in mind is cultural continuity
03:57in making sure the area is distinctive. So, the communities and their places of worship,
04:05everything remains as is. But, you know, everything else has improved, whether it's accessibility,
04:10whether it's making the city cooler. That, I think, the layers of the city, the pluralism of Kuala Lumpur
04:18is what we need to protect. Exactly. And I think I'd love to zoom in a little more, Izan, on
04:23looking at
04:24the economic factor within everything that you just mentioned, because ultimately ensuring that
04:31everything is sustainable enough, it definitely means ensuring the value flows back into the small
04:37communities, the small businesses, the garai-garai that you've mentioned, that helps make the neighbourhood
04:42successful. So, what are thinkCity's perspectives around affordable space in particular, so to ensure
04:51that those from the community can then be a part of the renewed surroundings as well? Oh, absolutely.
04:58So, I think one of the few things that we look into are the five Ds. So, when we go
05:04into a place,
05:05we look into discovering the place, discovering the area, understanding who lives there, who's moving,
05:13what transportation do they use, where do they sit, where do they converge. So, we discover a document,
05:18then we design an intervention if it's required, and then we basically deploy it. And if it's successful,
05:27we duplicate it into other areas of the city. And so, meaning to say, there cannot be a blanket
05:34approach to every area in downtown KL. It's not a cookie-cutter approach, and it has to be place-based.
05:40And in that way, you can ensure that the community comes in from the first touch point, and not a,
05:49by the way, be little hubbies to baru, they are involved, to say, yay, that's...
05:53That won't really make sense. It doesn't make sense. It's not meaningful. It also doesn't affect their lives.
05:59And I think the success of an intervention is to make sure that you also impact the communities who are
06:06living there. And so, YABPM's view of ensuring that as downtown KL rises, the rest of the community
06:15rises with it too, right? So, as much as you also reach for the stars and go up to the
06:24sky, you also
06:25need to make sure you're culturally anchored with its people. So, I think the thinking of that is to
06:30make sure our... whatever that's done in downtown KL, whilst think city anchors and very much works with
06:36the local stakeholders to make sure it's community-based, we also want to make sure they are
06:41through there throughout the whole journey. It's about the entire life cycle as well. And
06:46what I did read up on with a lot of interest was that there's plenty of mini micro grants that
06:54are
06:54going around. Yes, correct. Roughly around close to 70 million ringgit that's been spread across,
06:59and all of these are ways of restoring not just activity, but also confidence at the grassroots level,
07:05right? So, Izan, also creative city strategies, they do generate tourism, footfall, particularly
07:12during a highlight year like Visit Malaysia year 2026, but those numbers do not necessarily
07:18translate into whether artists and cultural workers and those small creative businesses
07:24are actually going to be sustainable outside of key highlights. So, some thoughts on how ThinkCity is
07:32collaborating and already working on the ground to try and make this a little more organic.
07:38Absolutely. That's really close to my heart, being someone who advocates a lot on creative economy.
07:44So, in ThinkCity, we have worked closely with Kuala Lumpur City Hall to develop a KL, as a UNESCO
07:52Creative City of Design Strategy paper. And there is a dossier that was submitted after two years of
07:58preparation. And Alhamdulillah, we are successful and we are now recognized as a creative city of design.
08:05Now, what does that mean? That means that design is a common thread of element that we can see on
08:11our
08:11day-to-day life in KL, whether it's from architecture, to fashion, to visual arts, to jewelry. Now, how do
08:19we
08:19make sure with a strategy that it also affects the people in need? The different tools need to be deployed
08:25to ensure that we strengthen the ecosystem. So, you're talking about grants. You're talking about capacity
08:31building. You're talking about creating common platforms to also celebrate and ensure that the visual
08:37manifestation of their work against the urban fabric that we have is also portrayed. So, there's KL Festival
08:43every May in downtown KL. There are the grants as mentioned. And to date, I believe with Ministry of Finance,
08:50there has been a returns of more than half a billion into the city. And there's a lot more. And
08:59the
08:59communities require this. But they're also, you know, mind you, our arts and culture communities are very
09:07resilient. They've been able to push forward. And what we need to do is to make sure that these spaces
09:14are
09:14accessible to them. We make sure we provide conducive environments. We make sure if they need to use
09:19public spaces for installations or performance that permits our businesses, it's friendlier. Less red tape.
09:28Yeah, less red tape for them. I think these are some of the things that we need to look at.
09:33So, we need to shift from
09:34not just being a grant disbursement to visualizing strategies, but also facilitating
09:42that. We have to play many roles to ensure that that local ecosystem thrives. Because at the end of the
09:49day,
09:50downtown KL is anchored on this confluence of creativity, culture and its community.
09:55Absolutely. And Izan, that brings me to looking at one of downtown KL's, perhaps its greatest assets,
10:03which is a huge stock of historic buildings. And now connecting the cultural workers, the small
10:09entrepreneurs economy to that, what are some of the biggest practical obstacles to ensuring that these
10:16historic buildings can be upgraded, but at the same time safely also let out and become those public
10:24spaces for commerce, for interaction and for cultural connection?
10:28So, I think we do. I think based on Things City and DBKL's documentation, referred as the Kuala Lumpur
10:37Creative Cultural District strategic master plan, it has actually mapped out the whole area of downtown
10:45KL. And downtown KL here is less than 5% of the whole of Kuala Lumpur. That's right.
10:51And in this space, there are a lot of unutilized buildings, whether it's from the public and private sector.
11:00There is, of course, a need to inject new life into it, because otherwise, with no activation and
11:08no new content, we will not be able to capture value. We will not be also able to create new
11:16jobs and
11:17employment for the local communities there. Adaptive reuse is very key here. And of course, not just
11:27restoring and preserving, but also how do you make sure that these assets and buildings are used and
11:34introduced for more relevant needs in contemporary, in today's contemporary day, right? So instead of just,
11:41perhaps, perhaps, the usual hotels or commercial restaurants, there can also be an introduction and
11:50incentive of us looking into creative work spaces, into community spaces, mixed needs for students and all sorts.
12:01So this historic buildings that we have in the city, whilst the plenty, needs to be designed, curated,
12:09accordingly to the characteristics of each area and its significance. I hope I'm making sense.
12:15Yeah, absolutely. Izan, thanks so much for the conversation this far. We take a quick break.
12:19Don't go anywhere. We'll be back with the rest of the discussion right here on Niaga Spotlight.
12:40Welcome back to Niaga Spotlight. Still with me, Tamina Kausji. And today, the spotlight is on all
12:45things Merdeka and urban renewal economics with Izan Satrena Mohamed Saleh-Huddin, senior director at
12:51ThinkCity in the studio's life with us. Izan, jumping straight back into the conversation
12:56and picking up on a thread we'd mentioned earlier, looking at community consultation and how central
13:04that actually is, not only because it's the responsible and ethical thing to do, but the dimensions of
13:12value that ThinkCity also is able to bear testament to that comes with genuine consultation with the
13:20community for urban renewal. Maybe I can share with you one of the recent initiatives that was done,
13:29well, not perhaps recent, but a few years ago. It's still ongoing and it's done in consultation or
13:35with support with the Ministry of Finance and the Selangor government as well. It's our public housing
13:40project called Kita Untuk Kita. It's across 10 PPRs. It has positively affected 50,000 PPR residents.
13:50And why it's successful, it's because the whole process design is actually anchored with the
13:56communities. They're at the start till the end. They actually decide who receives the grant. They also
14:04have now an organized platform called ForCom or Forum Community where they're able to voice out some
14:11of the things that are happening within their PPRs for different stakeholders to address it. Now this
14:16is very key because at the end of the day, these are the communities who are living there, who are
14:21there
14:22on a day-to-day basis knowing what's happening, what needs to be done, what sort of programs is in
14:27need to
14:28support their children or their environment, what sort of safety elements need to be integrated. So
14:35communities' inclusion in the whole process is very key. They can also lead identification of priorities
14:44if budgets are limited. And so residents will know better where people feel unsafe or places are underused.
14:53So there has been some introductions of say a lift improvement program. So they had improved this
15:03lifts and the corridors with an allocation of 500 ringgit. So every floor is about 500 ringgit.
15:10Which is not large. It's not large, but oh my god, the transformation of these areas have been positively
15:15amazing to the point that these spaces have become an area for where they do their tuition classes with
15:26their kids, nikah, kawin, akikah. All is done within this lift areas of the PPR. They've taken so much pride
15:36in transforming that area. It looks like a hotel lobby for some. And so it started off with a very
15:42simple
15:44belief that communities can take shape and actually make things happen on their own if we just support
15:52them a bit. Yeah. I think that stands as, you know, wide testament to the fact that when you have
15:58that
15:59stewardship and that social cohesion, really incredible things can happen. Izan, now when we discuss
16:05liveability through the dimension of transport, housing, green space, quite often accessibility
16:14is left a little behind. But considering, of course, our realities as a society, we're maturing,
16:21which also means we're ageing. That definitely brings into strong focus that not just the aged but
16:27also families with little children, those who are disabled, everyone needs to have an accessible city,
16:33not just for now, but to serve us well in the decades to come. Tell us more about your thoughts
16:39around how universal design could become a baseline across all of our upcoming builds and even the
16:47regeneration. Absolutely. Our office is actually at ground zero. Our bosses believe, our boss believes
16:57that we have to be at ground zero so that we know what's happening with the city, how accessible it
17:01is.
17:02So more than 90% of the employees at ThinkCity uses public transportation
17:08to access any point for our work in downtown KL. Now, you're absolutely right, universal design
17:16should be a baseline on how we operate downtown KL. But we also must be mindful that all cities
17:22have come with some of these components, whether it's the narrowed roads and walkways and laneways
17:31or buildings that may not have ramps. So it's easier to actually go out and seek newer buildings that
17:39have all these facilities. So we have to work harder in improving the area, but it doesn't mean that we
17:47we must exclude them. We just, it could be a bit more costly to do so. But certainly we can
17:57find
17:57alternative solutions to ensure that the areas are accessible to every level of society, whether you
18:06are walking with a cane, whether it's mummies with prams, whether it's people with wheelchair. We have seen
18:12a lot of people actually walking around downtown KL, unfortunately, with wheelchairs using the bike lanes.
18:20So universal design is very paramount if we want to make sure that KL, downtown KL is successful.
18:27Yeah, exactly. And over time, hopefully that connects more and more swaths of interconnected city line.
18:35And that will lead to the city also becoming far more usable. So Isan, as we look to land the
18:40conversation,
18:42perhaps what would the longer term scorecard for successful urban renewal in downtown KL look like
18:50for ThinkCity after almost a decade of experience and running on working so closely on all of these projects?
18:58Well, we, we, we are very thankful we're given the opportunity and given the mandate to work in downtown KL.
19:05And we could not have done it without a DBKL, Jabodan Wilayah and MOF. Certainly we have worked with a
19:12lot of
19:12stakeholders like Hasan Nahya Yasan, Hasanah, PNB Merdeka Ventures. There's a lot of stakeholders involved in
19:17improving and improving and making sure that downtown KL is livable and lovable. Now, there is a theory of
19:25change that ThinkCity has worked on to ensure that we do not go off tangent from the work streams that
19:33we should be doing and prioritizing, right? And every success should not be dependent on numbers alone,
19:42number of visitors, number of buildings restored, etc. But we should also look from
19:47perspective of culture, economic, social, and as well as green climate wise, right? So how have we
19:58impacted these elements as well? Because every intervention and design is somehow connected to
20:04some of these parameters. And if we're able to also take a step back and ensure that, hey,
20:10have we actually affected you? Are you able to come to work easier? Are you able to enjoy a time
20:17with
20:17your loved ones over the weekend? Is it easier for you to get into the city? Are you able to
20:23walk under
20:23the shade? These are, I think, more, I think, questions that were not able, they're quantifiable, right?
20:31They're quantitative, sorry, quantifiable, pardon me. And quantitative is not always the end of it all.
20:37So we must also consider feedback from the users and the visitors to help shape whether this
20:45transformation is a success or otherwise. Exactly. And it has to be a really ongoing, vigorous process
20:52as well, perhaps quarter on quarter. If you could tell us just a little about that before we leave.
20:58Sure. At the moment, we are working towards achieving a 7.85 billion target for the transformation of the city.
21:08We are looking at different platforms to measure feedback. The recent one I can share with you is,
21:15of course, the KL Festival, of which we have received more than 90 percent feedback of people
21:22who would like to come back to downtown KL to experience that. And a lot of them actually also shared
21:28they never realized how walkable downtown KL is. So I think these are just some of the basic things
21:36that we need to look into in terms of improving the city, connecting it for them, but also measuring
21:42to say whether we have made any dent or otherwise. Absolutely. Izan, thank you so much for the
21:48conversation so far. And of course, that was our Merdeka special looking at urban renewal economics and
21:54this Merdeka make Kuala Lumpur keep growing. History intact, shared opportunities and people at its heart.
22:00Selamat Hari kebangsaan. I'm Tamina Kalsji signing off for now.
22:06Thank you very much.
22:09Bye.
22:14Bye.
22:17Bye.