‘Govt prepares for rapid urbanisation’
PUTRAJAYA: Based on a projection by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Desa), it is estimated that Malaysia’s population, similar to the rest of the world, will increase exponentially within three decades.
According to the World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, the nation’s population is expected to reach almost 33 million people in 2020, with numbers projected to rise to more than 40 million in 2050.
The same trend has been projected for the nation’s urbanisation rate, which stands at 75 per cent.
Desa, in its World Urbanisation Prospect: The 2014 Revision, projected that Malaysia was expected to register an urbanisation rate of 80 per cent in 2020, and between 85 to 90 per cent 30 years later.
Going by these important indicators, it is imperative for the country to formulate an early future plan beyond Vision 2020, rolled out in 1991 and supported by the National Development Policy, National Vision Policy and National Transformation Policy.
Economic Planning Unit (human capital) deputy director-general Johan Mahmood Merican, who is National Transformation 2050 (TN50) Unit head, said the rapid change taking place globally in gearing towards the 4th Industrial Revolution made it timely for the government to formulate a strategic, visionary and 30 year-long plan named TN50.
“Malaysia registered an urbanisation rate of 75 per cent, which is more than 20 per cent higher than the global urbanisation rate.
“By 2050, the country is projected to register an urbanisation rate of between 85 and 90 per cent. The increase in urbanisation will bring changes and challenges.
“Thus, the government believes it is crucial to make early preparations for the future to ensure Kuala Lumpur and other cities will continue to experience rapid growth and remain competitive.”
He said TN50 was meticulously formulated using a “bottom-up” approach by reaching out to more than two million people, and that translated to more than 150,000 aspirations and inputs gathered via dialogues, workshops and online channels since January last year.
He said the approach not only promoted people participation in nation development, but also proved that this was a listening government, evident from the number of aspirations that were incorporated in the 2018 Budget announcement tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in October.
“The process is ongoing. The government is synthesising the aspirations towards developing strategies and a policy document, which is expected to be launched by the prime minister by September.”