Time for the Mayor of KL to wake up

Isn’t it amazing that after all the effort developing a KL Structure Plan 2020 with a vision to propel KL to a world class tropical garden city, Kuala Lumpur has dropped 8 positions in the 2010 Global Cities Index measured by international management consulting firm AT Kearney  index from  40 (2008 Index) to  48.

Steep drop in rankings a wake-up call for KL

Kuala Lumpur has also dropped 4 positions in the “Liveable Cities” ranking in the Economist Intelligence Unit survey, falling from 75^th to 79^th.

To add salt to injury, Georgetown (Penang) had caught up by being equal  62^nd position in “Liveable Cities”  2010 ranking conducted by ECA International , another international management consulting firm.  Georgetown was 64^th and KL was 61^st in the 2009 survey.  Whilst Georgetown progresses, KL drops.

Penang’s capital is eighth most liveable city in Asia, on par with KL and Bangkok

ECA International (2010 ranking)

ECA International  (2008/9 ranking)

Looks like having a Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry won’t do much good if KL continues to have an absence of world class universities, relatively low salaries, lack of major cultural and outdoor attractions, lack of orderliness and poor maintenance, low levels of sophistication, creeping urban sprawl, crime, unhygienic conditions and traffic congestion.

In launching the GP-WPKL 2010, the Mayor of KL and the FT and Urban Wellbeing Minister will be  accelerating urban sprawl as it frees up hill slope developments purely for commercial profits.  Sadly, far from working towards progress in becoming a world class city, KL seems set to regress towards setting an example for a failed city with unsustainable development policies.

It seems if we wish to save KL, we are best to vote Pakatan Rakyat.

Gary Yeoh – JAC for Bukit Gasing.