MAQASID AL-SHARI’AH AND MALAYSIAN URBAN-RURAL NATIONAL INDICATORS NETWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (MURNInets).

1.		What do you understand about MAQASID AL-SHARI’AH (MAS)-Objectives/Purposes of Islamic Law; in Town Planning and Architecture works?
		The Maqasid Al-Shari’ah’s (MAS) key objective is to achieve welfare and social justice for the Muslim ummah. It concerns the preservation of five (5) key components comprising of (i) faith, (ii) self, (iii) intellect, (iv) lineage, and (v) property. In the context of Malaysia, the Government’s effort to embrace MAS in its policies and actions has been obvious and rigorous, the latest effort being the introduction of the Malaysian Shari’ah Index. “We measure and review whether the policies and programmes set by the government through the ministries and related agencies met the requirements of MAS itself” (Prime Minister, February 10, 2015, BERNAMA)
		In the urban planning or built environment,  MAS may be viewed through the presence of a strong relationship between the terms din (religion) and madinah (city). Din refers to a way of life encompassing all practices of Man’s submission to Allah, the Creator, and his/her interactions with other human beings and with the environment. Madinah refers to a place wherein those practices and interactions are being carried out. The most significant event that is thought to illustrate the strong relationship between MAS and urban planning is the Prophet S.A.W’s migration from Makkah to Madinah.
		In addition, the Prophet S.A.W. immediately laid the foundation for the establishment of a masjid and that during his time a masjid functioned beyond that of a place for worship. A masjid and its vicinity saw other activities of the community taking place including administration, business, social activities, learning, etc.
2.		Do you think that MAS is important in creating Liveable Cities and Quality of Life in Cities?
		Yes MAS is important in creating Liveable Cities and Quality of Life in Cities.   Livability is defined as “quality of life” as experienced by the residents within the city or region. Therefore, the livability and quality of life is more subjective and intangible, as people perceive many different things when they speak of quality of living. Hence, it is crucial to explore the concept of livable city from the western viewpoint and Islamic viewpoint. In addition, it is also important to discover the criteria or factors of livability which are consistent with MAS to give a clear picture of livable city in Islam.
3.		Out of the 5 core jurisdictions of MAS (the protection of Religion, Life, Intellect, Lineage and Wealth), as a professional, which one /ones is/are most important, you think? Why?
		The protection of Religion is most important because as a professional then the duty to put the interest of religion in the top. All things that destruct the religion should be avoided. Deviation of faith should be tackled. In charge of religious leaders would be a fair and integrity, will not allow anything happen that will damage the morality. Those who are not religious are weak character and lose the spirit of patriotism and national identity, and not impossible mortgaging national interests for the sake of fulfilling their own desires. But remember in keeping the religion, many challenges need to be overcome such as thought of pluralism, liberalism, LGBT and others.
4.		What do you think about the Most Liveable Cities Ranking? For example Melbourne and Singapore?
		As an urban planner, I am much more interested in what it is like to live in a city and how urban life compares in different parts of the world. The three rankings I look at here are the Liveability Ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Mercer’s Quality of Living Ranking and Monocle Magazine’s Quality of Life Survey. For what I can tell, these are the only rankings looking at how liveable our cities are. One such town is Melbourne, which has been ranked the world’s most liveable city by the Economist since 2011. It is really interesting to see that it covers thirty indicators in five categories weighted as follows: stability (25%), healthcare (20%), culture and environment (25%), education (10%) and infrastructure (20%). One criticism of the ranking is that it does not take into consideration the cost of living in the cities, even though, ironically, the EIU produces a worldwide cost of living survey.
5.		In your opinion, contemporary needs of man and its society should encompass also Justice (Human Rights) and Harmony?
		Functionally, “justice” is a set of universal principles which guide people in judging what is right and what is wrong, no matter what culture and society they live in. Justice is one of the four “cardinal virtues” of classical moral philosophy, along with courage, temperance (self-control) and prudence (efficiency). (Faith, hope and charity are considered to be the three “religious” virtues.) Virtues or “good habits” help individuals to develop fully their human potentials, thus enabling them to serve their own self-interests as well as work in harmony with others for their common good. The ultimate purpose of all the virtues is to elevate the dignity and sovereignty of the human person.
		Social justice is the virtue which guides us in creating those organized human interactions we call institutions. In turn, social institutions, when justly organized, provide us with access to what is good for the person, both individually and in our associations with others. Social justice also imposes on each of us a personal responsibility to work with others to design and continually perfect our institutions as tools for personal and social development.
6.		To protect man’s overall Life System, MAS should be incorporated in Town Planning and Architecture?
		Yes definitely, MAS should be incorporated in Town Planning and Architecture
7.		What do you think about MURNInets? What about the Happiness Index in MURNInets?
		MURNInets
		Federal Department of Town and Country Planning (FDTCP)  being the a focal point for Sustainable Development Indicators for Local Authorities through MALAYSIAN URBAN-RURAL NATIONAL INDICATORS NETWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (MURNInets). This is in line with the Department’s vision to be a “Leader in Town and Country Planning towards achieving a Quality and Sustainable Living Environment by 2020.
		The evaluation of towns and cities performance towards achieving  sustainable development and wellbeing of the people can be done through the implementation of MURNInets which uses a set of indicators that reflects their sustainability level through MURNInets. Its give a better reflection on the progress towards sustainable development in Malaysia. The role of local authorities is seen as crucial in planning for sustainability with a bottom up mechanism for support of the local authorities to ensure strategic plans; development control and enforcement are incoherent with the sustainability objectives. MURNInets can be monitored using the developed indices in a wider sense in terms of urban development and work as a guideline for urban managers towards sustainable cities.
		MURNInets include 36 sets of compulsory indicators grouped under 21 themes under 6 dimensions. Most of the targets and standards for the selected indicators were adjusted according to hierarchy of local authorities. Based on SDG, 6 dimensions have been identified from which the 36 indicators have been derived. These dimensions are Competitive Economy, Environmental Quality, Sustainable Community, Optimum Use of Land & Natural Resources Efficient Transportation & Infrastructure and Effective Governance. The assessment of a sustainable city is always related to the selection of sustainable development indicators with a set of indicators to develop a sustainability index.
		MURNInets shall give a better reflection on the progress towards sustainable development in Malaysia. MURNInets can be monitored using the developed indices in a wider sense in terms of urban development and work as a guideline for urban managers working towards attaining and maintaining sustainable cities. MURNInets has been recognised as a very important tool to measure sustainability of towns and cities in the country by the National Physical Planning Council  (NPPC) which is the highest authority on physical planning in Malaysia which is chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
		Happiness Index in MURNInets
		Happiness index is an indicator introduced under the quality of life theme to meet the current development trend that emphasises on the well-being of communities. A good physical environment provides the foundation for a well-ordered city conditions, that can cater for the physical and economic needs of the people. However such provision may not necessarily ensure a city is spiritually or socially sustainable. Most people tend to associate happiness with feeling good, that is, with a life that offers a variety of pleasures and comforts. Some tend to associate happiness with being able to do whatever they want to do, still others associate it with achieving everything they have set out to achieve in life. And such definitions of happiness could not be captured through quantitative measure of physical and environmental indicators. Hence the need for a qualitative procedure or method to derive at the Happiness Index as an indicator of Happiness level of the community to be included in the overall framework of MURNInets. Happiness Index Study is a primary data collection - survey carried out jointly between local authorities and residents. The aspects taken into account are the relationship of the individual with family, neighbourhood and environmental atmosphere, the interaction between people, the safety of the population, the level of health facilities and the level of local authority services in his/her respective areas.