19th OCTOBER 2008...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUHAMMAD ZULAZMIN

Today is my son Muhammad Zulazmin 1st year birthday

THE TOOL OF URBAN GOVERNANCE EFFICENCY

Land use control mechanism is a tool to guide and control land use development activities mainly in town planning process. In Malaysia, The Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172) states that there must be a development plan system to act as a mechanism to control land use. The development plan system consists of a District Local Plan (DLP) which has the functions of planning, controlling and guiding land development at the district level. Studies done in DLP consists all the sectors in land development including housing. Thus, all parties in land development process, especially the developers must refer to DLP as to refer on land availability for future housing development. However, the effectiveness of the information on land availability stated in the DLP has always being questioned. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to study and improve the effectiveness of DLP in stating the level of land availability for housing development in urban area. A study is done based on literature study on the importance of housing in an urban system and reviews on the factors relating to housing in DLP. The Malaysia Government's strategy for promoting sustainable development identifies an important role for the town and country planning system. The system is to be a key instrument in delivering land use and development objectives that are compatible with the aims of sustainable development. The recent amendment to the planning legislation indicates the concern for better environmental management both at development plan level and development control. For development control purposes, the local planning authority is empowered to grant planning permissions subject to conditions related to resource conservation and measures which enhance environmental quality of the development.

17th OCTOBER 2008 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUHAMMAD ZULAZMAN

Today is my second son, Muhammad Zulazman celebrate his 8th birthday. Happy Birthday to Abang Man from Ayah, Ibu, Abang Lan, Kakak ALin, Adik Amir and Adik Amin. We all love you..

15th OCTOBER 2008 - LESTARI SPECIAL FORUM

SUSTAINABILITY AND HUMAN WELL-BEING : CAN WE MEET THE CHALLENGE?

Distinguished Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USAFounder President, ATREECo-founder, CISED

Today I have attended a special forum on SUSTAINABILITY AND HUMAN WELL-BEING : CAN WE MEET THE CHALLENGE? organised by LESTARI, Akademi Sains UKM and ICSU Asia Pacific. The forum delivered by Prof Dr. Kamal Bawa from University of Massachusetts Boston USA. The forum focus on is humanity’s quest for sustainability will be the dominant theme of the twenty first century. The major challenges to this quest are the inter-related problems of environmental degradation and poverty, exacerbated now with climate change. Progress on technological, social and economic fronts would be necessary to meet these challenges. However, existing institutions in much of the developing world do not have the capacity to respond to complex environmental and social challenges. New institutions are required to cope with poverty, environment, and sustainability. Such institutions should be problem driven with explicit goals of addressing environmental degradation, poverty alleviation and social change. Moreover these institutions should transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries to generate new ideas and technologies, and link new findings with changes in policy and governance. I will provide some examples of such institutions and their innovative sustainability programs and discuss ways to make further progress in meeting environmental, social, and economic challenges of our time.

Kamal Bawa, an evolutionary ecologist and a conservation biologist, obtained his doctoral degree form Panjab University, India. He has held Bullard and Cabot Fellowships at Harvard University, and has also been named a Guggenheim Fellow as well as a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment. Currently, a Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, Kamal Bawa, has published more than 160 papers, and edited eight books, monographs or special issues of journals. He is the editor-in-chief of Conservation and Society, an interdisciplinary journal in conservation, and also serves on the editorial boards of several other journals. He has served on many national and international advisory panels. He has been the President of the Association for Tropical Biology., and is a member of the board of several foundations. Kamal Bawa is the founder-president of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), a non-governmental organisation devoted to research, policy analysis, and education in India.He is also a founder-trustee of the Center for Interdisciplinary studies in Environment and Development, Bangalore, India.

14TH OCTOBER 2008 - POSTGRADUATE QOLLIQIUM

Today I have attended postgraduate qolliqium organised by Faculty of Social Science and Humanities (FSSK), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). 3 paper presented by one PHD student and two master students. Their research basically at the stage of data analysis. Below the list of papers presented :

a. THE URBAN SIAMESE COMMUNITY : A STUDY OF CULTURAL IDENTITY MAINTAINANCE AND TRANSMISSION IN AN URBAN SETTING OF MALAYSIA by Suphatmet Yunyasit, Phd Student Candidate from Programme of Antrophology and Sociology, FSSK .

b. ORANG ASLI RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMME AS DEVELOPMENT AGENDA FOR ORANG ASLI COMMUNITY - CASE STUDY DALA, GERIK PERAK by Norashikin Mohd Saad, Master Student Candidate from Programme of Development Science, FSSK

c. ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL SUITABILITY BASED ON GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) - CASE STUDY STRATEGIC PLANNING ZONE SENTUL-MANJALARA KUALA LUMPUR by Mohd Yusof Ibrahim, Master Student Candidate from Programme of Geography, FSSK.

Unfortunely, only 4 lecturers and 4 students attended??????

GOVERNING OUR CITIES: WILL PEOPLE POWER WORK

UN-Habitat launched the Global Campaign on Urban Governance in 1999 to support the implementation of the Habitat Agenda goal of “sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world.” The campaign’s goal is to contribute to the eradication of poverty through improved urban governance. It aims to increase the capacity of local governments and other stakeholders to practice good urban governance and to raise awareness of and advocate for good urban governance around the world. The campaign focuses attention on the needs of the excluded urban poor. It promotes the involvement of women in decision-making at all levels, recognizing that women are one of the biggest levers for positive change in society. In so doing, the campaign will make a significant contribution to implementing the Habitat Agenda and the United Nations’ action strategy for halving extreme poverty by 2015.

The massive challenge of preparing cities to meet the 21century has prompted the emergence over recent years of a remarkable and radical international consensus. At the heart of this is how all city dwellers, particularly the vast majority with subsistence incomes, no security and very little power, can gain a stake in the future of their cities. Cities cannot be successful – economically, politically or culturally – if the divisions between rich and poor continue to widen, if the poor are disenfranchised and have no rights to their land and if they have no voice or form of self-organisation. The solution to sustainable development in cities is for poor people to be allowed to assert their own rights, and increasingly to organise themselves to provide their own services and infrastructure. Successful systems of urban governance depend on people power.

This consensus is not simply that of a fringe group of radicals, but the analysis that emerged five years ago in Istanbul at the meeting of 171 governments for Habitat II, the City Summit (the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements). The terms "participation" and "partnership" had been used since the 1980s to mean very different things, such as the privatisation of services and the contributions made by poor people to their costs. The type of partnership widely seen today as crucial to good governance and poverty reduction involves poor people participating with government in policy and decision-making as well as contributing to implementation and costs. Often the private sector is also involved. But successful privatisation of services like water also depends on meeting the needs of the poor, and the role of government is to ensure and facilitate this. If they are ignored, fiascos like Bolivia’s Cochabamba water privatisation occur – where protests against steep price hikes by the private consortium led to the government rapidly rescinding the contract. Successful privatisations involve consultation and choice for the poorest citizens, with crosssubsidisation or differential levels of services to keep prices affordable. The proposed extension of the scope of the World Trade Organisation’s GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) may constrain governments’ policy choices in such service provision.

FAREWELL TO HAJI ZULHAIMI...

Today 10th October 2008, my brother in-law Haji Zulhaimi and his family return to Jeddah, after spend 3 weeks Hari raya with us. He is working with Panda, the leading food retailer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as Trainning Manager. Panda is part of the Savola Group, which is one of the largest companies in Saudi Arabia.

HAJI ZULHAIMI AND HIS FAMILY

HAJI ZULHAIMI' FAMILY AND HAJJAH NORBAINI DURING HARI RAYA 2008

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY

KAKAK ANIS AND HER GRANDMOTHER

OUR FAMILY AND HAJI ZULHAIMI AT KLIA

HAJJAH EZIYARTI AND HER FAMILY AT KLIA

BYE-BYE...AYAH EMI, MAK EMI, ARIS, ANIS AND ADIK HANNY ...SAFE JOURNEY

AL-FATIHAH....FOR PROF DR. AHRIS YAAKUP

Today 9 October 2008, I received sms from Dr Jalal dan a few friends from Federal Department of Town and Country Planning, Peninsular Malaysia, to inform that Prof Dr Ahris Yaakup Senior Lecturer from Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment (FAB), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, (UTM) has passed away in New Zealand. Allahyarham Prof. Dr. Ahris created a planning support system that can be used by local councils and planning agencies to control and monitor urban development. Allahyarham Prof. Dr. Ahris has written a few articles related to urban planning such as:

• GIS and Decision Support Systems for local authority in Malaysia

• A GIS Approach to Spatial Modeling for Squatter Settlement Planning in Kuala-Lumpur

• Incorporating GIS into sustainable urban and regional planning. The Malaysian case

• Geoinformation Technology and Urban Planning: From Database to Knowledgebase

• A geographic information system (GIS) and multi-criteria analysis for sustainable tourism planning , etc

Even I was not UTM student or his student, I have attended a few seminar and workshops delivered by Prof Dr Ahris. I think he is a urban planning scholar. For him.... "planning methodology has changed over the years as emphasis has shifted from producing plan, which described a state of affairs expected of some future date to one, which acknowledged the continuous and cyclical nature of planning. Thus planning should be based on the identification of needs and goals, the formulation and evaluation of alternative courses of action and monitoring of adopted programmes. By tracing the evolving view of planning, this paper will discuss the likewise evolving concern of the information technology. It can be demonstrated that the development of planning support system run parallel to the database to information followed by the current focus on applied science approach in the 1960s through a focus on the political process in the 1970s to an emphasis on communication in the 1980s."

Prof Dr Ahris is so passionate about the development of Geographical Information Technology (GIT) as a tool for planning in Malaysia indicates the growing GIT application in planning process. For him Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can be used to assist decision–making, taking into account among other things, the current scenarios of the proposed development, physical constraint and future impacts. ... AL FATIHAH...may god bless you and rest in peace...

EFFICIENCY IN URBAN GOVERNANCE - THE FUTURE OF MALAYSIA'S LOCAL AUTHORITIES

Rapid economic growth, population increase and urbanization that characterize most countries in the Asia-Pacific region impact inevitably on the urban environment. The emergence of new issues and problems poses new challenges to traditional ways of managing urban areas. It entails new approaches, strategies as well as practical and effective answers and solutions from local authorities. Greater globalization of the economy, accelerated advances of information technology, greater demands for accountability of results and the need to foster closer public and private collaboration pose tremendous challenges to national as well as local governments. One of the emerging issues arising is whether Malaysian local authorities, particularly the smaller ones, will have the capacity and capability to assume new roles to meet new challenges. In the future, local authorities must move from a maintenance-oriented administration to being a facilitator, pacesetter and regulator of socioeconomic development in order for them to contribute effectively towards the nation's competitiveness.

With regards to these challenges as well as the capability and need to reform to remain effective, the Tun Dr Mahathir our former Prime Minister commented that: "Given these rapid changes in the world economy, the public service must be prepared to confront new sets of challenges in the 21st Century (...). Continuous efforts must therefore be made to review the public service so as to be in line with the current needs and times. We need to look into new ways and means to improve and enhance the capability of our public service (Mahathir 1995: 12)". As part of the national efforts to reform the public service in meeting the current needs and times, local governments together with other public agencies have been undertaking a number of reform programmes based on a series of strategies. These reform efforts are intended to create excellence in the public service based on the core values of quality, productivity, innovation, integrity, accountability, discipline and professionalism and include:

• The provision of customer oriented services;

• Improvements to systems and procedures;

• Greater use of information technology;

• Strengthening relationships with the private sector;

• Improvements to the organizational structure and human resource management;

• Enhancing accountability and discipline; and

• Enculturation of values and excellence.

As instruments of national development, local governments in Malaysia have changed fundamentally, albeit slowly from a service provider to a facilitator of growth. Besides, local governments have assumed a more developmental role in creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and for citizens to prosper. In the age of rapid urbanization and globalization, the ability to manage change and fast-paced development is an important imperative for local government. This entails continuous capability and capacity-building efforts, reforms, innovations and the willingness to learn from others.

SEMINAR ON PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

This 2nd semester Session 2008/2009, I am joining (sit-in) class of philosophy and theory of development coordinated by Dr Siva and Encik Azmi. I hope I can improve my knowledge on development theory and will give some inputs for my literature review. We have been thaught by Dr Siva and Encik Azmi a few theories related to development. Today 6 October 2008 I have a chance to present my paper on GLOBALISATION FORCES IN RELATION TO DEVELOPMENT. Actually this topic is really much relevant to my phd research and continue to 1st semester 2007/2008 lectured by Assoc. Prof. Dr Hamzah under module Globalisation and Development. However on 26 September 2008 I have met Encik Azmi to discuss further on the content of this topic.The end of the seminar, Dr Siva, Encik Azmi and my classmates give analytical thinking and new information about globalisation. Here my slides presentation.

6th OCTOBER 2008 - WORLD HABITAT DAY

The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October each year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat. The global observance of the occasion this year will be led from the Angolan capital, Luanda. The celebrations in Angola will show the world, how the country, after years of conflict, is progressing in the establishment of harmonious cities through improvements in urban infrastructure and services, and a new urban development strategy.

The United Nations chose the theme of Harmonious Cities for 2008 to raise awareness about the problems of rapid urbanization, its impact on the environment, the growth of slums, and the urbanisation of poverty as more and more people teem into towns and cities looking for a better life. In an age where for the first time half of humanity is now living in towns and cities, the quest for adequate shelter for all along with basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity, decent health care, safe streets, etc., is more urgent than ever, especially in developing countries. There should also be no illusion that cities have the greatest impact on the environment and climate change. And where they are poorly managed, with weak governance structures, it is their citizens and their surrounds that suffer most.

Urgent action is thus needed to foster widespread use of new energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies to reduce urban pollution.Harmonious Cities are inclusive cities where everyone and every culture is at home. Indeed, such is the importance of all these aspects of Harmonious Cities that UN-HABITAT’s main flagship report in 2008 and the fourth session of the World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China from 3-7 November will also focus on Harmonious Cities to reinforce the World Habitat Day message. A joint seminar and exhibition on Harmonious Cities for World Habitat Day and The Way Forward on Sustainability for World Town Planning Day 2008 will be held on 5th-7 th November 2008 at Putrjaya International Convention Centre (PICC)