In line with the SDGs of the United Nations (UN), Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian said MURNInets will help improve the liability of the participating local authority’s area through various measures.
This includes planning for affordable housing, management of public parks, efficient waste management and more.
Goal 11 of the United Nation’s SDG aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
“SDGs are important for city development as well as urban and rural area. As cities continues to evolve, so does its environment and the lifestyle of the people,” said Dato Sri Dr. Sim during the launching of MURNInets on 13October 2022 at Kuching.
Also present at the event were Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Minister permanent secretary Datu Antonio Kahti Galis, and Town and Country Planning Department (PLANMalaysia) director general Dr Alias Rameli.
Introduced by PLANMalaysia under the federal Ministry of Housing and Local Government, MURNInets is a tool to measure and evaluate the sustainability level of a local authority’s area through a set of predetermined indicators.
The objectives of MURNInets 2.0 are;
- To determine the level of sustainability of local authorities in the country based on a set of indicators.
- To identify the strengths and weaknesses of every local authority based on the performance of indicators.
- To propose measures to improve and identify opportunities to enhance sustainability.
- To establish MURNInets 2.0 as the tool for local authorities to monitor their sustainability level.
MURNInets is also in line with the Sarawak’s PCDS 2030 key outcomes such as increase home ownership to at least 75 per cent, increment in public transportation, providing safe, reliable and 100 per cent coverage for public utilities such as water and electricity.
According to Dato Sri Dr. Sim who is also the Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, Sarawak, MURNInets will provide an enhanced intelligent platform to strategize the types of development in a particular area while being able to measure its effectiveness through the participation of the public in surveys.
“It is a very comprehensive coverage on the economy, sustainable development, health, community, land use, efficient infrastructure, transport and so on,” he said, noting that government agencies can relearn and redesign the products and services they give, based on feedback.
Described as a comprehensive measurement tool, MURNInets comprises of five strategies, six dimensions, 20 themes and 39 indicators which includes the economy, environmental quality, community well-being, optimal use of land and resources, effective infrastructure and transportation and good governance.
MURNINets was introduced in Sarawak since 2012 but at that time the PBTs did not participate in the programme.
Up until 2019, only three PBTs in Sarawak, namely Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS), Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) and Sibu Municipal Council, have joined MURNInets and completed all indicators and reached a moderately sustainable level.
Recognizing the importance of MURNInets to the measurement of urban sustainability and well-being, a meeting between PLANMalaysia with the Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government and Sarawak Local Government was held on 19 August 2022, where it was agreed that Sarawak’s participation in the MURNInets program will begin fully in 2023. In Malaysia, a total of 127 PBTs consisting of 98 from Peninsular Malaysia, three in Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan and 26 from Labuan have joined MURNInets.
MURNInets Background:
1998 – PLANMalaysia had initiated a study on urban sustainability indicators.
2002 – First set of urban sustainability indicators were produced, known as the Malaysia Urban Indicators Network (MURNInet)
2007 – The Sustainable City Award was introduced by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to be given to local authorities that were deemed sustainable according to the indicators
2007 to 2009 – A pilot MURNInet system was established to enable local authorities to enter data on sustainability indicators
2010 – Indicators were then reduced from 56 to 40
2012 – The MURNInets Gateway was launched which allows local authorities to enter sustainability indicators data and view the results online
2013 to 2016 – Undertaken by the department, Ministry of Housing and Local Government and other related agencies.
2017 – MURNInets was revised and enhanced futher with the feedbacks and inputs, with latest version of MURNInets introduced
Present – MURNInets 2.0 presently has six (6) dimension, 22 themes and 43 indicators
(Source: https://www.planmalaysia.gov.my/)
