Mohd Jafni (left) finding interesting creations from the pupils during his visit to the Low-Carbon Carnival. — THOMAS YONG/ The Star
JOHOR government is allocating RM1mil to carry out the Iskandar Puteri Low-Carbon Carnival next year.
State housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said the state government took sustainability seriously as it moved towards boosting other areas, including investments.
“We have discussed with the mayor to increase the allocation for the carnival,” he said.
“Last year we allocated about RM700,000, and next year we will increase it to RM1mil.”
“Our intention, besides looking at the achievements and creativity of our students and teachers, is to ensure that projects done can also be applied at the community level.”
Mohd Jafni said the Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) had successfully reduced 20,367,221kg of carbon dioxide in the past five years through its Iskandar Puteri Low-Carbon framework over a five-year period through various programmes and initiatives from 2019 to 2024.
“This is equivalent to the carbon absorption of 1,305,538 trees,” he said.
“Through the framework MBIP has also engaged and benefitted more than 71,000 residents under its jurisdiction, through awareness activities, sustainability education, and community programmes that support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).”
On a separate matter, Mohd Jafni said the state government would continue pushing local councils to adopt practices that could further its smart city agenda.
He said that despite recently becoming the country’s first state to achieve ‘Smart State’ status, the Johor government would not rest on its laurels.
“It was indeed a very proud moment for us as we have created history by being the first state ever to get the status, beating even Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
“We had aimed to achieve the status in 2030, but it looks like we managed to do so five years earlier than expected.
“However, this does not mean that we will take it easy from now on. If anything, it only motivates us to do better and try harder,” he added.
Mohd Jafni said there were four levels of smart cities, based on indicators under the National Smart City Framework.
“Being a smart state means that all 16 local councils in Johor have at least reached Level 1 Smart City Early Adopter status, and this requires them to fulfil about 10 parameters.
“Last year, seven of our local councils gained the Level 1 status, while Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) made it to the Level 2 Developing Smart City Status.
“This year, the remaining eight local councils in Johor joined the Level 1 list, while MBJB went up to Level 3 Leading Smart City, making it the first city to gain that in Malaysia so far,” he said.
Last month, Mohd Jafni announced that Johor achieved a major milestone by becoming Malaysia’s first smart state.
He said all 16 local authorities in Johor had achieved at least Level 1 “Smart City Early Adopter” status, reflecting the state’s strong commitment to innovation and efficient governance. — By VENESA DEVI
