(From left) Hazman, Mohd Zulkurnain, Wong, Amirul and Norliza launching the Subang Jaya Voluntary Local Review and SDG City Roadmap 2030. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
SUBANG Jaya City Council (MBSJ) is setting its sights on achieving Smart City Adopter Level One by next year, with ambitions to reach Level Two by 2027.
The local council plans to benchmark its progress against Johor Baru City Council (MBJB), which currently stands at Level Three, says mayor Datuk Amirul Azizan Abd Rahim.
The Smart City Adopter is a national smart city rating programme to benchmark progress in areas like smart living, mobility and governance.
There are four levels in total.
Amirul said he had provided a clear directive for MBSJ to attain Level One by next year.
“Our target is to reach Level Two by 2027,” he said.
Highlighting Johor Baru’s accomplishments, he said, “We are proud of the southern city’s achievement and aim to benchmark ourselves against them.”
He said this during the launch of Subang Jaya’s second edition of the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) and the SDG City Roadmap 2030 in Subang Jaya.
Amirul said the smart city goals were part of broader efforts to strengthen governance and sustainability planning.
“With the second edition of the VLR and the SDG City Roadmap 2030, our approach to sustainable development is now more structured compared to before.”
The VLR, conducted by Urbanice Malaysia in partnership with MBSJ, assesses alignment between city-level policies, programmes and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The latest edition expanded the assessment from two SDGs in 2021 to eight: SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
Amirul said the SDG City Roadmap would guide long-term planning and interdepartmental coordination.
“It is aligned with the city’s Local Plan, which will be launched next year,” he said.
Also present at the launch were Seri Kembangan assemblyman Wong Siew Ki and Subang Jaya deputy mayor Mohd Zulkurnain Che Ali, MBSJ Town Planning Department director Hazman Mohd Mahayudin, and representatives from Housing and Local Government Ministry, Urbanice Malaysia, state agencies and other local authorities.
Urbanice Malaysia chief executive officer Norliza Hashim said the VLR remained a valuable tool for local councils even though it was not compulsory.
“The VLR allows councils to assess where they are, what the gaps are and whether they are meeting community needs.”
She noted that one of the key findings in Subang Jaya’s second VLR was improved governance.
“Strengthening governance is crucial because it affects how plans, processes and protocols are implemented,” she said.
“Good governance is always the foundation before any other SDG actions can succeed.”
