ISSUE 1, 2016

CENTRALISATION KILLS LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT 04 BY LAM CHOONG WAH

DISSECTING THE KL-SINGAPORE HIGH SPEED RAIL PROJECT 11 BY DHIRENN NAIR

REFORMING STANDING ORDERS: BEYOND MALAYSIAN PARLIAMENTARY REFORM 14 BY MOHAMMAD FAKHRURRAZI

LIVEABLE CITIES: KOTA KINABALU AS A MODEL FOR 22 BY PHOONG JIN ZHE

PARK, TRANSIT, MOVE IN 26 BY IR LEE SUET SEN

EDITOR’S NOTE

One of the major urban issues in Malaysia is the poor public transport system which has plagued the nation for decades. The root causes are multifaceted but can be categorized into constitutional glitches and policy preference. The centralization of transport author- REFSA Team ity in the hands of the federal government has demotivated local authorities to im- prove public transport services. Most of Executive Director / Wong Shu Qi the time, the local authorities can only General Manager / Chung Hosanna plead with the federal government to act Senior Fellow / Lam Choong Wah or watch idly when encountering transport Researcher / Dhirenn Nair complaints. This is not correct and can be Research Librarian / Kwan Say Hong rectified through an effort of decentraliza- tion. Library Curator / Wong Hon-Wai Meanwhile, the City Council of Petaling Layout & Design / Wahyudi Yunus Jaya is spearheading a Transit Orientation Development model to curb the pressing Published by traffic congestion issue in the city. The Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) idea is not new, but it is a matter of pref- erence. 2nd Floor, Wenworth Building, Preferring private cars over public Jalan Yew, Off , transportation is no longer a workable 55100, model. By switching the preference to public transportation, the authorities have Tel : 03 92855808 a chance of getting out from this transport Fax : 03 92818104 deadlock. URL : www.refsa.org As a city institute, REFSA presented a few articles which dissect the trans- port issue from alternative angles in this Email : [email protected] 1/2016 REFSA Quarterly. We hope it will provide some contexts in finding sustain- able solutions for the future.

WONG SHU QI Executive Director Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) www.refsa.org ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 3 4 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

By LAM CHOONG WAH Senior Fellow, Refsa

alaysia is a relatively more developed state Mcompared to Cambodia or Thailand. With the current purchasing power, a majority of people in Malaysia are able to own things which could be con- sidered as luxury items, such as and multiple cars. However, even with such across the board development, a majority of are de- prived of access to efficient and affordable public transportation. Decades ago, residential ar- eas and parks were connected to routes; this is no longer the case in many instances. Many bus operators are gradually giv- ing up routes that are deemed unprofitable due to low ridership. One of the reasons for these low rates of ridership is the rise CENTRALISATION of car ownership. Owning a car makes people think twice about utilising public transportation which is perceived to be time con- suming and an inconvenience.In KILLS LOCAL PUBLIC contrast, while iPhones may not be an affordable item to many Thais and Cambodians, public transport such as Tuk-Tuks and tricycles are relatively accessible TRANSPORT to many people. Granted these modes of What has gone wrong? as we further develop and urban- public transportation are not ise, public transportation is grad- as modern as the LRT system ually becoming less accessible, No, I am not advocating the return in Kuala Lumpur, they are how- particularly outside of the Greater of rickshaws as a major mode ever cheaper and are available Kuala Lumpur region. The ques- of public transportation but we around practically every street tion sounds simple enough but it need to seriously reflect on why corner. deserves substantial answers. ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 5

The Federal Government Monopolises Transport Affairs

Public transportation is of vital necessity, this is a widely known fact; however, what is less known is that the Federal Government in has sole jurisdiction over it. Officials who sit in offices of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD), away from the hustling and bustling areas of the Klang Why bother having to worry about all these the bus operator abandoning my area? Is it related to low ridership? questions when Why are bus operators allowed to abandon certain areas? Should one can just ridership and CENTRALISATION profit be the get into their sole factors in selecting private vehicle routes? Are bus stops and drive off? KILLS LOCAL PUBLIC safe places? The problems plaguing our Why bother having to worry public transportation system, par- about all these questions when Valley, decide on bus routes and ticularly , are multifaceted one can just get into their private future transport policies. Such and concern the following: ratio- vehicle and drive off? an arrangement on the planning TRANSPORT nality of bus routes, punctuality, The aforementioned ques- of public transport policies is connectivity, accessibility, fares, tions relate to serious doubts in a cause of concern because it demography, town planning, effi- the minds of citizens concerned leaves out two important actors, ciency of bus operators, policy and with the state of public transporta- local councils and state govern- budget matters. tion in the country. If anything, all ments. Is the lack of punctuality relat- these questions and conundrums The origin of this arrange- ed to ridership or is it due to poor point to one important fact, poli- ment can be found in the 1957 maintenance and traffic? Why is cies matter. Reid Constitutional Commission 6 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

Chart 1 : The ridership of Greater Kuala Lumpur Area Source : Land Public Transport Master Plan GREATER KUALA LUMPUR / , 7 November 2013. Mode Share 1970-2012

Report, paragraph 119 states thorities. Thanks to a period where the that “The regulation of road Therefore, it is obvious that Government aggressively pro- traffic is a matter for the Feder- for there to be an efficient public moted car ownership to boost ation, and we recommend that transportation system, cooper- local car manufacturing, now ev- this should continue to be a fed- ation between the Federal Gov- eryone can drive. eral subject but with power to ernment and local authorities is The immediate consequence the State to regulate the weight an imperative. of such an ill planned policy is an and speed of vehicles on State substantial drop in public trans- roads, bridges and ferries... Oth- The Decay of our Public port ridership. In three decades, er means of communication and Transportation System between 1970 and 2010, usage telecommunications are and rates in the Greater Kuala Lum- should remain federal subjects.” pur area have drop from 50% to This recommendation was The biggest development a mere 16%. Public transport is adopted and incorporated into related to now perceived as something un- the tenth section of the Feder- in the past few decades is un- common for many. doubtedly the boom in car man- al List, the Ninth Schedule. Al- The situation is even worse ufacturing which has resulted in though the federal government in areas outside of Greater Kua- unprecedented rates of car own- exerts sole jurisdiction over la Lumpur, particularly in Johor ership in Malaysia. One would be transport affairs, the power of Bahru, Ipoh, Seremban, Alor hard pressed to find an urban constructing bus stops and town Setar, Kuala Terengganu, and dweller who does not own a car. planning is vested in local au- . For example, in 2012, ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 7

Chart 2: Stage Bus Ridership in Selected Capital Cities Source : The Eleventh Malaysysian Plan

an estimated 400,000 people sales, the government increased cording to a World Bank’s report, took public transportation in the import tax on foreign cars the rates at which roads were Kangar, , but that figure tremendously and “purposely” being built were unable to match has declined by 36% to 200,000 overlooked the development of with expansion in the rates of people in 2014, or 548 people public transport. car possession. Almost every daily. In such a situation, due to The lack of foresight on be- urban resident is unable to es- the ridiculous arrangement laid half of the Government has re- cape from being caught in heavy out in the 1957 Reid Constitu- sulted in a situation where we traffic. In the Peninsula alone, tional Commission Report, state have high level of car ownership 38% of federal roads – many governments are powerless; but low levels of public trans- of which provide radial access all they can do is plead, mostly portation usage. A poor public into city centres – have service unsuccessfully, with the Federal transportation system will only levels which are classified as E Government. force more people to not opt for or F. This means that they are Why is public transportation it, more so if they have access to severely or extremely congest- 1 in Greater Kuala Lumpur and private vehicles. ed. The hours wasted in gridlock on Greater Kuala Lumpur roads other areas decaying? The main Public transportation in cost us RM 12.7 billion or 1.1% problem stems from prioritising semi-urban and rural area has of the GDP. wrong policies. Three decades suffered the most from these ago, the Mahathir administra- disastrous policies. Worse still In the meantime, the Dep- tion decided to launch a nation- is the face that local authorities uty Minister of Finance Ahmad al car project out of the pride of have been witnessing this deteri- Maslan revealed on 25 June Malaysia Boleh. oration by lack the finances and 2015 at the that Given the fact that an au- most importantly the jurisdiction 107,306 Malaysians were bank- tomobile industry needs a cer- to arrest the situation. rupt between 2010 and April 2015. Many of them or 28.9% tain level of economy of scale The poor public transport were due to car loans default, to support its production and system costs us too much. Ac-

1. World Bank, Economic Monitor: Transforming Urban Transport, p. 36. http://www-wds.worldbank. org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2015/06/18/090224b082f3c367/1_0/Rendered/PDF/ Malaysia0econo0ming0urban0transport.pdf 8 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

21.7% were due to house loans, Why is KL getting tens of welcome these plans; but what 18.5% were due to personal billions in allocation but about people from other parts of loans, 12% were due to commer- other areas get less than Malaysia? cial loans and 5.8% were guar- RM 1 billion combined? As far as we know, the SPAD antors. Does it mean residents in had come up with three plans to Obviously, the poor state of other areas deserve a lower help states and local councils public transport not only damag- quality of public transport? deal with land transport issues. es our economy but also plays a What makes Kuala Lumpur- First, RapidKL set up subsidiar- role in bankruptcy in relations to ies such as RapidPenang and ians deserving of such a those defaulting on car loans. RapidKuantan to run local trans- privilege at the expense of port services. Second, a RM 400 The Federal Government has others? only just gotten around to real- million ISBSF fund was set up to subsidise qualified stage bus ising that transportation related distance, this will not solve the operators to continue their ser- issues have been wrecking hav- mile issues. Considering our hot vices. Third, RM 100 million was oc on the economy and also the and humid tropical climate, we allocated to finance a qualified wellbeing of people. They have Malaysians have made it some- bus operator to run a stage bus come up with some plans aimed what of a habit to drive anywhere service in Seremban, Kangar, at rectifying the problem. How- that requires more than a 10 Kuching, Ipoh and Kuala Tereng- ever, the plans have a couple of minute walk to get to. So, in such ganu. weaknesses. cases, even with public transpor- tation, some private transporta- While this shows that there Kuala Lumpur Wins, tion is needed. is some commitment to better- ing public transportation out- Others Lose Secondly, both the Eleventh side of the capital region, this Malaysian Plan and Transport does not go far enough. Why is Masterplan prepared by the Firstly, is favoured. KL getting tens of billions in al- Land Public Transport Commis- Everyone likes the LRT and prob- location but other areas get less sion focuses on solving urban ably the soon to be completed than RM 1 billion combined? transport issues, but this is MRT; modes of transport which Does it mean residents in other mostly focused on the Greater are clean, safe, punctual and areas deserve a lower quality of Kuala Lumpur area. modern. I like it too. The Komut- public transport? What makes er run by KTMB is many of these The federal government has Kuala Lumpur-ians deserving of things, but it is definitely not planned to invest no less than such a privilege at the expense punctual. RM 70 billion in the LRT Line 1, of others? In fact, the discrim- However, there are problems LRT Line 2, KL , exten- ination in terms of allocation associated with rail transport. sions of two current LRT Lines, will further widen the transport The most obvious one is the high MRT 1, Sunway BRT, and in the development gap between KL cost and the long construction upcoming KL-Klang BRT, LRT and others areas and this could period; around 6 to 7 years in and MRT 2. This does not cause some uneasiness among total. In that amount of time, it include the estimated RM 45 bil- Malaysians. lion to be spent on the KL-Singa- is even possible to complete re- All of this stems from the fed- pore High Speed Rail project. payment on a car loan. eral centric mindset practiced by Moreover, if the rail transpor- Being the immediate ben- the SPAD. When the SPAD pays tation stations are situated more eficiaries, resident of Greater attention to KL, public transport than 10 minutes away in walking Kuala Lumpur, for the most part, development flourishes. Other ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 9 areas outside of KL which re- ceived targeted assistance from the SPAD also experienced im- provements in public transport. For example, ridership of stage buses skyrocketed in both Pen- ang and Kuantan with the Rapid services, Malacca too saw an in- crease in ridership. Nonetheless, many areas desperately in need of assistance from the SPAD re- main undetected by its radar.

State Empowerment in and

Waiting for Putrajaya atten- tion towards issues in public transportation in areas outside of Greater Kuala Lumpur would be a long wait indeed. Thus, the state governments of Selangor and Penang decided to take mat- ters into their own hands, despite jurisdictional restrictions. These authority that plans, builds and ter-plan is estimated to cost RM two states announced local pub- maintains local infrastructure, 62 billion and it plans to utilise lic transport master-plans. as well as receives complaints and extend the current rail and What the state governments and deals with the residents. bus services to reach more res- did is not exactly a radical idea for This makes the local authority idents, it is all about accessibili- it is a common practice in many the most qualified to settle the ty. A concept of Transit Oriented developed countries. Practical- public transportation needs of Development is highlighted to in- ly all major cities in developed its residents, not some officers crease the outreach through the countries design, plan, build and sitting in an office far away, de- establishment of feeder buses regulate their own local public tached from the scene on the which will cover more residential transport affairs through local ground. areas and transit hubs. councils. In fact, the model that Penang’s Public Transport The two masterplans are still the SPAD has drawn ideas and Master-plan’s estimated cost is under public and legislative scru- inspiration from is from one such RM 40 billion and it is aimed at tiny and are subject to review by city: i.e. the Transport in London revamping the state’s land and the SPAD, but these initiatives is run by and is the responsibility water transport systems through have prompted the federal gov- of a board appointed by the May- a sea tunnel, a rail system, bus ernment to realise that state or of London City. services, water taxies, and ex- governments are able to not only Why is local authority pre- pressways. plan but also execute multibil- ferred over a central body? Meanwhile, Selangor mas- lion ringgit transport projects. Most importantly, it is the local 10 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

In other words, decentralisation To a large extent, the process of decay. of authority is a viable approach centralisation of power It has to admit that the central- towards improving local public has discouraged local isation of power brings negative transport. authorities from taking implications, it demoralises local initiatives to improve local authority in their ability to execute Decentralisation Can Revive public transport. Indeed, plans. Inaction on the part of the Decaying Local Transport federal government leads to a de- Systems it gradually kills local transport. terioration in the public transpor- tation system in non-urban areas. To a large extent, the centrali- ulations set forth by the central To get out from this nega- sation of power has discouraged authority. tive cycle, the main option that local authorities from taking initia- An unwise policy decision has to be considered is decen- tives to improve local public trans- makes people pay higher prices tralising power over matters of port. Indeed, it gradually kills local for public transport but continue transport away from the federal transport. to live miserably. It also causes government towards states and Why is Uber becoming a pop- the decay of institutions. The po- local authorities. Local authori- ular urban transport solution? litical scholar Francis Fukuyama ties need to have the power to act The reason is because the federal who advocates the political de- on matters concerning local pub- government is unable to provide cay theory argues that should lic transport and they should also quality public transport for the an institution not be capable of be allowed a certain degree of public; whereas the invention of remaining relevant and adapt to financial autonomy. Such acts of Uber has filled this gap by provid- the changes in the environment decentralisation are the only way ing an App based automobile con- in operates in, that institution will of empowering local authorities nection service. What angers the decay. Even a democratic political and effectively and seriously tack- SPAD and also taxi drivers is that system which has self repairing ling issues related to transport Uber operates outsides of the reg- abilities is not excluded from this and public transportation. ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 11

DISSECTING THE KUALA LUMPUR- SINGAPORE HIGH SPEED RAIL (HSR) PROJECT

By DHIRENN NAIR Researcher, Refsa

he idea of establishing a high Tspeed rail (HSR) link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore was first mooted by YTL Corpo- ration in 2006; however, it was not further explored due to the high costs it entailed.2 Following deepening cooperation between Malaysia and Singapore, in 2013, the two countries formal- ly announced a plan for such a project. The rail link will be an es- timated 350 kilometers long and will cut travelling time between the two cities to 90 minutes, ac- cording to Land Public Transport Commission.3

Rail (KTM) 9.5 hours Bus 6.5 hours The rail link will be an has been made as to who the Flight 4.2 hours estimated 350 kilometers contract will be awarded to, the HSR 2.5 hours long and will cut travelling perception on the ground is that time between the two a Chinese government firm is fa- cities to 90 minutes vored. As an Edge article notes, Estimated Travel Times between rumors of Malaysia favoring the KL and Singapore (Door to Door) Chinese could have something Apart from the proposals from to do with the fact that a Chi- Source : Kuala Lumpur - Sin- Chinese and Japanese firms, nese government linked entity gapore High Speed Rail: Project there is also interest from Eu- recently acquired 1MDBs energy Overview, http://goo.gl/OXjxjs ropean firms. While no decision assets, Edra Global Energy.4

2. ISEAS (2016) ISEAS Perspective, Issue no. 7. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/ISEAS_Perspective_2016_7.pdf 3. SPAD (n.d.) High Speed Rail. http://www.spad.gov.my/land-public-transport/rail/upcoming-projects/high-speed-rail 4. The Edge. (January 2016) Merits and Demerits of the KL-Singapore High Speed Rail. http://www.theedgeproperty.com. my/tags/kuala-lumpur-singapore-high-speed-rail-0 12 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

Furthermore, another Chi- is the airline service. A survey of nese government linked corpo- the daily rates for a flight from ration has a 60% stake in the KL to Singapore for the month Bandar Malaysia development of May, through the Skyscanner project, Bandar Malaysia will website, shows that the cheap- serve as the KL terminus of the est flight tickets are RM57 for HSR. one way flight. If a one way HSR ticket is Cost 200% more expensive than a flight ticket, how exactly will the While the Malaysia Gov- HSR system be able to compete ernment has not disclosed the with airlines? Even consider- It is unclear how the estimated cost of the project, ing the fact that the total door government arrived at an China Railway has estimated a to door transit time for a flight estimation of 18 million total cost of RM70 billion, which is 1.7 hours more compared to passengers, especially overwhelmingly exceeds the that of a HSR trip, many con- when airlines, whose fares RM8 billion quoted by YTL and sumers will probably be willing to 5 are probably going to be as Siemens AG back in 2007. endure the longer travel time in competitive as that of the order to save more than RM100. HRC, are unable to pass the Kuala Lumpur- Singapore High Rider-ship 5 million mark. Speed Rail Project A parliamentary answer dat- Length 330 km of the HRC, are unable to pass ed 14th March, received by the the 5 million mark. Total Estimated USD$5.5 MP for Kluang Liew Chin Tong, In addition to this, high traffic Cost billion estimates that rider-ship on volume was identified as one of USD$54 the 10th year is expected to be Cost per KM the reasons for such a project, million 49,315 passengers per day or with the Causeways always be- Estimated 18 million per annum. ing said to be operating at above Ticket Price USD$45.00 Such a figure is a very high es- 30% of its capacity. However, it (one way) timation if current public trans- is unlikely that the HSR is going portation usage rates are taken Source : Singapore-Malaysia rail to be able to address this prob- into account. In 2015, MAHB alignment set amid China lobby lem given the fact that the line figures show that total airline concerns, https://www.malay- does not even pass through Jo- passenger movement between siakini.com/news/325410 hor Bahru. KL and Singapore was only 3.5 million people.6 It is unclear how Economic Returns the government arrived at an estimation of 18 million passen- The KL-SG HSR project was The estimated one way tick- gers, especially when airlines, cited in 2010 as part of the et price is USD 45 or RM 180. whose fares are probably going Economic Transformation Pro- The main competitor of the HSR to be more competitive than that

5. Malaysiakini. (January 2016) Singapore Malaysia Rail Alignment set amid China lobby concern. https://www. malaysiakini.com/news/325410 6. MAHB (2016) 2015 Annual Report, http://ir.irchartnexus.com/malaysiaairports/doc/ar/ar2015.pdf ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 13

7 gramme (ETP) as a key project in implementation and progress), of the TGV rail line in France and “revitalizing Greater Kuala Lum- the stops on the Malaysian side- also the HSR line in China. pur”. The project is expected to “ Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Overall, the economic argu- make daily trips between the two Pahat and Nusajaya — will enjoy ment for the project is that the cities more convenient, hence exponential growth in the next improvement in connectivity will becoming a “catalyst for eco- 50 years.” 7 Meanwhile, the Ma- foster greater economic integra- nomic growth”. Stations along laysian Land Transport Commis- tion, with particular emphasis on the Malaysian side of the HSR, sion (SPAD) contends that “The labour mobility and cross border which include stops in town like economic and social benefits de- services. But, what if their esti- Seremban and Muar, were stra- rived from the agglomeration of mations are wrong and the HSR tegically selected as part of gov- 2 cities bring about a huge devel- system fails to attract 49,000 ernment efforts to target these opment potential. The geograph- passengers daily after ten years specific areas for greater eco- ical concentration of clusters of and deliver on the projected eco- nomic growth. According to the businesses and employees will nomic returns; will the project CEO of MyHSR Corp ( a Ministry result in an enlarged pool of spe- end up being bailed out by the of Finance entity responsible cialist skills, labour and talent.” 8 Government? for the promotion of the project They also emphasise on the and also the overlooking of its benefits gained in the examples

7. MyHSR (n.d.) KL-Singapore HSR Project Overview. http://www.myhsr.com.my/downloads/KL-Singapore_HSR_ Project_Overview.pdf 8. Ibid. (n.d.) KL-Singapore HSR Project Overview. http://www.myhsr.com.my/downloads/KL-Singapore_HSR_Project_ Overview.pdf 14 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

Malaysia is one of many countries which practice parliamentary de- By MOHAMMAD FAKHRURRAZI Former Intern at Refsa mocracy based on the Westminster system. Under the rule of Barisan Nasional (BN), Parliament has become more of a rubber stamp which is focused on bulldozing through government bills without proper de- liberation. This betrays the role of Parliament as an institution which pro- vides checks and balances to the government of the day. The strong performance of opposition parties in the 12th and 13th Gen- eral Elections has increased pressure and calls for parliamentary reform, at the federal level. However, despite a stronger representation of opposition parliamentarian, efforts at parliamentary reform con- tinue to face many hurdles. The ruling coalition, BN, has placed various limitations on the parliamentary system aimed at silencing and sti- fling dissent. Standing orders play an important role in managing parliamentary business such as: question time, debates, procedures, and the passing of bills. The be- haviour and decisions made in Parliament is influenced by the quality of the standing orders. The mere existence of standing orders does not make the operations of Parliament democratic; that depends on the content of the standing orders; they determine whether Parliament is a democratic institution or just a rubber stamp. Malaysia’s parliamentary standing orders have been perceived to ac- cord an advantage to the ruling coalition, since independence. The parlia- mentary reform agenda has failed to study and review the standing orders. This paper will discuss the weaknesses of the standing orders in four areas: Select Committees, Private Bills, question and question time, and recogni- tion of opposition parties. The question all this begets is whether the stand- ing orders of the are relevant and democratic. ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 15 16 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

Weakness of the Malaysian Parliament’s Standing Orders: A Comparison with the Parliamentary Standing Orders of Britain and India

1. Select Committee

According to SO 76 until 88A, Malaysia’s par- ment to form a select committee to examine min- liamentary standing orders, there are five internal isterial departments. Up till now, the Lok Sabha select committees. The Public Account Committee has 24 select committees to check and balance (PAC) is the only functioning committee to check ministerial departments. Both select committees and balance government expenditure. In Malaysia, in the House of Commons and the Lok Sabha have the PAC is headed by a Member of Parliament (MP) complex mechanisms to check and balance gov- from the ruling coalition, a practise which contra- ernment bills and ministerial departments unlike dicts that which is practised by other countries. In in Malaysia where standing orders are focused on those countries, the PAC is chaired by an opposi- the internal committees of parliament. tion MP. This standing order has no section on the The Parliamentary standing orders of the House power to form select committees to check and su- of Commons and the Lok Sabha allow the respec- pervise ministerial departments. tive parliaments to form select committee which SO 152 of the House of Commons provides par- deliberate on issues including social affairs. For liament with the power to form select committees example, the Women Empowerment and Equality to supervise and examine the business of ministe- select committee in House of Commons and the rial departments. The function of a select commit- Women Empowerment committee in the Lok Sabha tee is also to check and balance ministerial depart- were formed to discuss issues relating to women ments effectively. rights. All select committees, which deliberate on In the Lower House of Parliament in India, the current issues, are formed based on the authority Lok Sabha, the standing orders allow the Parlia- granted in the standing orders of Parliament. ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 17

2. Private Member Bills

Dewan Rakyat House of Commons Lok Sabha SO 49 (2) rejects any Private bill which is in contradiction to the SO 14 allocated Private Bill Lok Sabha secretary ensured the standing orders and the Federal business. validity of private bills. Constitution. SO 49 (4) private bill must have SO 23 Ten Minutes Ballot Private bills must get the support support from the minister in Box to present and get the of member of parliament. charge. support for private bill Has no allocated day for private SO 14 (9 allocated 13 Fri- Allocated 2 hours 30 minutes bills. days for private bills. every Friday for private bills. Differences of the private bill business between the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat, House of Commons and the Lok Sabha.

3. Question Time and Questions in Parliament Standing Order 23 (1) of the ment who want to question the Members of the House of Com- Dewan Rakyat puts restrictions government of the day under SO mons may put a notice of the on the type of questions that can 41 (2). The Speaker of the Lok time and date for a minister to an- be asked by Members of Parlia- Sabha, under SO 43 (1), has the swer his or her question(s) in the ment. The Speaker has the pow- power to reject any question from question paper. Whereas accord- er to reject any question if it goes a Member of Parliament who ing to the Dewan Rakyat standing against the standing orders and/ does not comply with the restric- orders, ministers have the right or any section of the Sedition Act tions set forth under SO 41 (2). to refuse to answer questions 1948. The Lok Sabha applies the There is no restriction on from Members of Parliament (SO same procedure as the Dewan Members of the House of Com- 23(4)). Thus, the standing order Rakyat. The tight procedure and mons wishing to ask questions. rules give an advantage and pro- rules to pose questions place a Under SO 22 (5) ministers are tection to ministers during parlia- limitation on Members of Parlia- obliged to respond to questions. mentary question times.

Dewan Rakyat House of Commons Lok Sabha SO 23 (1) requirement of the No restriction and requiremnet for SO 41 (2) requirement of the question question question SO 23 (2) Speaker have the power to reject question subject SO 43 (2) Speaker may reject to any section in Sedition Act any question opposite SO 41 1948 SO 22 (5) Minister must answer SO 23 (4) Minister have the question according to date and right refuse to answer question time that given by MP Different practice of question based on standing order of parliament Malaysia, Britain and India 18 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

4. Reorganisation of Opposition Parties SO 4A of the Dewan Rakyat relates to the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition in Par- liament. On the other hand, the standing orders of the Lok Sabha accords the Opposition Leader the status equivalent to that of minister status and is given pri- ority during debate sessions in Parliament. The Opposition in the House of Commons has the right to set the parliamentary agenda for 20 days, known as ‘Opposi- time and the debate session er eight days in Westminster Hall. tion Day’. Under SO 14 (2), the during sessions known as Prime The agenda during these 35 days opposition may raise ministerial Minister Question Times. is prepared by the Backbencher issues and governmental policy 35 days are allocated by the Business Committee. Clearly, to be debated by the house. The standing orders of the House of in this instance, the ruling party Leader of Opposition, also known Commons for backbencher busi- does not have a complete mo- as ‘The Loyal Opposition Leader, ness. Out if this, 27 days are allo- nopoly on parliamentary agen- will have priority during question cated in the chamber and anoth- das.

Dewan Rakyat House of Commons Lok Sabha Peraturan 4A appointing Leader SO 14 (2) 20 days of ‘Opposition Official Leader of Opposition Lok of Opposition Day’ Sabha Leader of Opposition is not ac- Leader of Opposition is the Leader of Opposition has the corded a status if being equiva- same level as minister and same level as a minister. lent to a minister. second highest post after Prime Minister Givern prirority during debate Given prirority during debate and and question time question time The difference of opposition party recognition based on standing order of parliament Malaysia, Britain and India

The Impact of Weakness Procedure of Dewan Rakyat Standing Order

As mentioned earlier, the the number of bills passed by tive year. This information is ruling coalition in Malaysia the Dewan Rakyat on the most sourced from Panduan Indeks has changed and manipulat- productive day for each year Tarikh Perbahasan Rang Un- ed the standing orders of the from 1949 until 2012. The day dang-Undang Malaysia dan Parliament to prevent due pro- chosen for each year is the day Indeks Tarikh Perbahasan Pin- cess in the passing of bill. The when the most number of bills daan Rang Undang-Undang graphs on the next page show was passed for each respec- dari Tahun 1949 hingga 2010. ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 19

Table 6

Table 7

Table 8

Table above shows that 28 government bills were passed by parliament in one day during the 1965 session. Parliament may pass a huge amount of bill because of standing order rules are weak.

Table above shows the highest amount of bills that the parliament in one day from 1971 until 1991. This period was after the 13 May 1969 riots, government rule was under MAGERAN. In 1973, the highest number of bills passed in one day was 23. This does not continue on, the trend observed from the graph shows that the number of bills passed on the day which saw the highest number of them decreased to less than ten after 1973.

This trend continues consistently until 2012. Not more 10 were passed in a given day in parliament. In 2009, the highest number of bills passed by parliament in one day was nine bills. On the other hand, in 2012, the highest number of bills passed by parliament was just eight bills. 20 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016 Reform of the ‘Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders’

The standing orders of the Dewan Rakyat originate from the procedures and rules of the Federal Council (1909) which was a legislative body of the co- lonial era. The Legislative Coun- cil (Privileges and Powers) Ordi- nance 1948 passed by Federal Legislative Council 1948, was used as the procedural rules for the operating of the Coun- cil. The ordinance basically ex- plained the rights and privileges of members of the Council. The Legislative Council also took an act of the South African parlia- ment as an example through which our own procedures were Not all of the rules in the ordinance were enforced and devised. Not all of the rules in the ordi- practised by the Malayan parliament as some changes nance were enforced and prac- were deem necessary by the Government in order to tised by the Malayan parliament fit with the political culture in the state at that time. as some changes were deemed In reality, these changes were made to accommodate necessary by the Government the interests of the Government which sought to place in order to fit with the political limitations on the rights of parliamentarian to voice culture in the state at that time. criticism In reality, these changes were made to accommodate the in- been little change, with the ex- change in over a century and terests of the Government which ception of two amendments; no- that even the little change that sought to place limitations on tably the one in 1998 where the did occur was counter produc- the rights of parliamentarian to ordinance was changed to Act tive highlights the need to push voice criticism. Tun Abdul Razak 347. This amendment reduced for a substantial parliamenta- presented a draft of changes to the amount of time allocated to ry reform agenda which grants the standing orders of the De- MPs to ask questions from the Parliament all the necessary wan Rakyat in 1959. The draft allowance of 20 oral questions powers to serve an an institu- was heavily criticised by the to just 10. Such an approach to tion of check and balance. Members of Parliament. To this changing the standing orders In the British Parliament, the day, the original standing orders is regressive and an affront to standing orders of the House of of the Council from 1909 remain the parliamentary system. The Commons have been amended in use in Parliament, there has fact that there has been little 33 times since 1998. The stand- ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 21 to specifically discuss reform. Conclusion The committee should propose amendments to the existing The weakness of the Dewan standing orders in order to strive Rakyat’s standing orders is the for a more effective, progres- biggest obstacle in the way to- sive and democratic Parliament. wards liberalising the Malaysian Discussions in the Committee parliamentary system. Ineffec- should involve a myriad of views tive standing orders have been in order to better comprehend an impediment to the concept of the complexity of the issues and parliamentary democracy in Ma- also identify and overcome pro- laysia as Parliament is not able cedural weaknesses. to play its role as an institution There are also a couple of of check and balance. Thus, the other recommendations which only way to restore democracy to could possibly assist in achiev- the nation, so to speak, is by em- ing the goal of reform: barking on serious parliamen- a. The standing orders com- tary reform; standing orders re- mittee plays an effec- form in particular. Encouragingly, tive role in reviewing and reform has taken place recently, amending flaws in the such as the setting up of Special standing orders. The Com- Chamber, Minister’s Question mittee would be more ef- Time, and etc, but more still fective if it does so at the needs to be done. The Parlia- ing orders are usually reviewed opening of Parliament. mentary Service Act of 1963 at each opening session in order b. Reviewing the Parliamen- which draws on the separation to ensure relevance consider- tary Service Act 1963 and between the legislative and the ing political and social changes. Act 347 to ensure the clear executive is a place to start. There is a strong understanding separation of powers be- At the end, the agenda for of democratic values and the un- tween the executive and parliamentary reform, through derstanding that the institution legislative branches of gov- reviewing the standing orders is is not merely a rubber stamp. ernment. futile without the commitment Therefore, it is evident that the c. Working together and get- and cooperation of MPs. The standing orders of the House ting support from civil soci- un-parliamentary behaviour of of Commons are more dynam- ety movements to pressure not adhering to the orders of the ic and progressive compared to the government towards Speaker and contravening pro- that of the Dewan Rakyat which committing to reforms cedural rules must be abated. has practically remained static d. Empowering the public on MPs need to serve the interest of for over a century. the necessity of such re- their constituents and not betray There are a couple of press- forms through educational the trust of the people. Ministers ing reforms which need to be ad- campaigns and grassroots should be responsive to ques- dressed in terms of Malaysia’s engagement to further en- tions and not merely read the parliamentary standing orders. trench the system of par- prepared speeches and leave. First, the parliament should liamentary democracy in form a special select committee Malaysia. i.e. the ‘Modernization and Par- liamentary Reform Committee’ 22 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

LIVEABLE CITIES: KOTA KINABALU AS A MODEL FOR MALAYSIA

By PHOONG JIN ZHE DAP Publicity Chief

When I was much younger, I remember following my moth- er and aunties to the city using the traditional mini buses. Back then, people of different races and ethnicity sat together and communicated in many languag- es. The atmosphere was har- monious, and it made me feel a sense of belonging to this city. Fast forward ten years later, and things have changed. The number of cars have increased by many folds, resulting in the many traffic jams we have today. It only gets worse by the day. Statistically speaking, over past two decades, the modal share of public transport users in the city of Kota Kinabalu (KK) has declined drastically from 34% in 1996 to a mere 4-8% in 2014. In 1996, 34 out of 100 people utilised public transpor- tation, the figure now stands at between 4 and 8 people. ident will own at least 2 cars in nearly 1 million people, which is In comparison to Kuala Lum- the near future. about one-third of Sabah’s total pur (KL), KK has a lower rate of The idea of Greater Kota population. Over the past few public transportation usage. Al- Kinabalu, GKK is defined as a years, KK has been experienc- most everyone in KK owns a car big conurbation comprising of ing rapid urbanization with the or two. The Greater Kota Kinaba- Putatan, Penampang, Inanam, mushrooming of many high-den- lu Plan forecasts that every res- Papar and Tuaran. It is home to sity residential projects. This re- ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 23 sults in urban sprawling, a situa- In terms of economic implica- tion where more people move to tions, traffic congestion has con- Over the past few a city and its suburbs from rural tributed to a GDP loss of 1.1% to areas. Ultimately, traffic conges- 2.2% every year; this is according years, KK has been tion will worsen. to the report by the World Bank. In June 2015, the World Bank Therefore, it is high time we experiencing rapid released the Malaysia Econom- shift away from our reliance on ic Monitor report with a specif- private transportation. This is urbanization with ic thrust – Transforming Urban only possible with the existence Transport. It addressed urban of a comprehensive and well-con- the mushrooming mobility as a key challenge to nected public transportation net- work which provides better con- of many high- nectivity and reduces traffic flow. Prime Minister Datuk Seri density residential Najib Razak, when unveiling the projects 11th Malaysia Plan, proclaimed that KK will be a “Growth Cat- alyst City”. He however, failed identifying and implementing to outline a roadmap on how to sustainable financing options for make KK a better city with better public transportation. connectivity. As the World Bank An integrated transport agen- warns, if limitations to urban mo- cy is important to handle the bility continue to be planning and delivery stages of a major problem, public transport solutions. As of the potential and now, transport-related entities competitiveness of are controlled by various agen- a city will be harmed cies at different governmental and dented. levels. Examples of such entities In order to are: JKR (Road), LPKP (Licensing achieve urban mo- of public transport), DBKK (Ur- bility, the govern- ban Planning and Public Trans- ment of the day portation Planning), State Gov- must be dedicated ernment (Land and State Road), to stop the sprawl of Federal Government (Funding private vehicles and and Allocations) etc. Without bet- instead focus on de- ter inter-agency coordination, the veloping efficient and accessible planning and execution of public public transportation systems. transport solutions is bound to The World Bank in its report sug- face many hurdles. Malaysia’s developed-nation am- gests establishing a lead trans- Among the various cities list- bitions. port agency at the metropolitan ed by World Bank as models are Abysmal rates of urban mobil- level, and introducing measures London, Vancouver and Paris; all ity are an obstacle to economic to manage the usage of private of which have integrated trans- growth which destroys a city’s transportations in heavily con- port agencies that plan and exe- competitiveness as a whole. gested areas. It is vital to start cute relevant transportation poli- 24 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

cies in the respective cities. It is If a relatively cheaper increases in the population and crucial that we consider adopting and efficient public also private vehicle ownership this idea in order to fulfil the in- transportation system was rates. Thus, the only option left creasing demand of transporta- in place today, reliance on to successfully addressing this tion in our cities. private transportations conundrum is categorised as ‘late intervention’. Besides poor planning, it was would be reduced, and also highlighted that an exten- this in return would signal On the contrary, GKK is in sive reliance on private trans- an increase in disposable need of “Early Intervention” as it portation is one of the leading has not yet experienced the rates household income. factors resulting in limited usage of urban sprawl seen in GKL. of public transport. According to endured has meant that more Thus, it is of utmost importance studies, high transport and con- and more residents of KK have that the relevant authorities act gestion costs lead to reduced to tighten their belts. If a rela- now on addressing transporta- disposable household income tively cheaper and efficient pub- tion issues in GKK before this and overall wellbeing. lic transportation system was in window of opportunity closes. According to the report, trans- place today, reliance on private The urgency in doing so is also port costs in Malaysian cities transportations would be re- highlighted in the report which are higher compared to other duced, and this in return would states that “GKK is showing East Asian countries; Malaysian signal an increase in disposable signs of congestion”. households spend a relatively household income. Although the Kota Kinabalu large share of their household The World Bank in its studies City Hall (DBKK) has already re- income on transport costs. used two major cities as case leased a “Public Transportation About 10% of Kota Kinabalu’s studies, namely Greater Kuala Master Plan” as well as a “Great- household expenditure is spent Lumpur (GKL) and Greater Kota er KK Plan”, the development on transportation costs, slightly Kinabalu (GKK). It concluded stages of each plan to not ap- higher than that Kuala Lumpur that the solution to the trans- pear to be progressing on track and any other city in Malaysia, portation issues in GKL is “Late with the timelines outlines. Such and 59% higher than other East Intervention”, this is because a problem will lead to a failure to Asian cities such as Tokyo and urban sprawl over the past thirty deliver on the proposed policies Hong Kong. years occurred at an accelerat- and projects. I believe that the The high transportation costs ed rate resulting in substantial DBKK lacks the power and the ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 25 necessary resources to fully exe- procuring an adequate quantity Perhaps it is too late to fix cute and deliver on the plans. of buses of sufficient quality and KL’s public transportation In addition, the said integrat- also on public facilities to ensure woes. However KK ed transport agency should not passenger convenience; instead has the potential to be controlled solely by the Fed- of being wasted on building ele- transform itself into the vated paths such as in the case eral Government. Planning and leading model of a public of the BRT in Sunway. This, first implementing powers should be transportation hub in in the country, BRT project cost decentralised to the municipal Malaysia. level– DBKK. Divest power to the a whopping RM600 million, for DBKK to develop its own public a mere 5.3km trail. Tickets are with higher population densities. transportation system, this must priced at RM1 per kilometre and also include financial autonomy. ridership is low. Such a blunder Executed correctly, holistical- We cannot leave it to the SPAD should not and can not be re- ly and comprehensively, KK will or the Federal Government to peated in future BRT develop- be able to position itself as the decide everything. The notion ments. leading model of liveable city in that policies affecting residents BRT buses run on a dedi- Malaysia. in KK be solely decided by offi- cated lane just like any other The most pressing task now cials sitting in offices 2000 km rail transit. Instead of building is regaining the public’s con- away from KK is ridiculous. Such expensive elevated roadways, a fidence and also successful- policies must take into account special road or lane could be set ly persuading them to utilise the situation on the ground and up on the ground. It should link the different modes of public the only way that can happen is bus stations, pedestrian routes, transportation. There are a few if people who a privy to the local bicycle lanes etc. Such an incor- crucial considerations towards scenario are fully involved in the porated structure will provide achieving this: Punctuality, qual- planning and development of convenience to end users and ity, safety, convenience, and policies. help to increase the usage of cleanliness. We would not want Under the existing Greater public transport. a RM1 billion undertaking to end Kota Kinabalu Plan, the govern- In comparison to the LRT, a up as another one of the white ment has actually announced BRT system is cheaper and more elephant projects our country is the implementation of a Bus suitable for lower-density resi- infamous for. (BRT) in the city. dential areas like KK. Based on My apologies to friends and Finance Minister Datuk Seri studies done in 2012, the con- colleagues in KL. I must say Najib Razak, during his budget struction cost per kilometre for that perhaps it is too late to fix speech in Parliament last year, a BRT system is RM8 million per KL’s public transportation woes. announced that RM1 billion will 10 kilometres. LRTs on the oth- However KK has the potential to be set aside to finance the proj- er hand, cost RM27 million per transform itself into the leading ect which is aimed at enhancing kilometre. model of a public transportation mobility and easing traffic con- Besides, one of the reasons hub in Malaysia. gestion in KK. why a BRT system is more suit- While, I support the BRT proj- able for KK is because KK has ect, I do have some reservations a lower population density and as we are still in the dark over BRT is able to extend deep into the exact details of the project. sprawling dwellings in smaller In my view, the RM1 billion areas. LRTs on the other hand, set aside should be spent on connect larger neighbourhoods 26 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

Park, Transit, Move in Petaling Jaya

By Ir Lee Suet Sen and its population has grown ing towards TOD, I proposed a City Councilor of MBPJ substantially over the past three bus service for the city, a service decades. which is now known as the PJ Transit Oriented Development City Bus service. (TOD) is a New Development Year Population It is collaboration between Focus for Selangor for next 5 to the Petaling Jaya City Council 1990 254, 849 10 years. While it is new for Se- (MBPJ) and Prasarana, the op- 2000 417, 030 langor, the concept of TOD is not erators of the Rapid KL and new to Malaysia as KL Sentral 2010 607, 509 services. The bus was the first TOD in Malaysia. 2015 658, 611 service, which is free, has seen However, during its construction, significant success over the (Reference: Department of Statistic it was not envisioned as one; it Malaysia) past two years since it was intro- was an ‘accidental’ TOD, so to duced. A survey commissioned speak. by the Urban Transportation di- According to Selangor State What is TOD? vision of the city council found Structural Plan 2020-2035, the that 19% of the participants pre- A TOD is a compact, mixed- city’s population is expected to viously utilized private vehicle to used, pedestrian friendly de- exceed 2.5 million people by get around. velopment organized around a 2035. transit station, TOD embraces In other words, the bus ser- Considering the rapid devel- the idea that locating amenities, vice has successfully converted opment PJ is undergoing coupled businesses, retail shops, and them from private vehicle users with its growth in population, the housing around transit hubs pro- to public transit users. The sur- authorities should be prioritizing mote transit usage and non-mo- vey also found that students and policies relating to mobility with- torized travel. In other words, it is low wage workers constituted in the city. Low levels of public all about improving connectivity 86% passengers. transportation usage, say below and promoting public transpor- The success of this service than 10% of a cities population, tation usage through thoughtful underscores the fact that a sig- does not bode well for its sus- and resourceful developments. nificant number of people would tainability in the long run. This ditch their private vehicles in situation underlines the impor- favor of public transportation, The Case of Petaling Jaya tance of farsighted urban plan- provided that such a service is ning. available and also accessible. Petaling Jaya (PJ) is a fully In June 2013, with the inten- Given the unfamiliarity of urbanized city in Selangor. The tions of improving the usage of many Malaysians, including PJ city has an area of 97.2 km sq. public transportation and gear- ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 27

A train of the of the RapidKL LRT passing through Petaling Jaya. residents, to TOD, a workshop 7000/km2 and Hong Kong’s is convincing enough for the Local was held by the city council in 6800/km2 while Singapore’s is Council One Stop Centre, OSC. November 2013 to introduce 7800/km2. However, in December this new development concept While this is not exactly 2013, as a member of the OSC, to city residents. The workshop alarming, the problem becomes I proposed the execution of the engaged many residents and evident when we compare the PJ Master Transportation Plan featured paper presentations rates of public transportation us- 2016-2025. The proposal was from experts and representa- age. Hong Kong’s rate is at an im- accepted and a study on the Plan tives from Hong Kong, Australia pressive 90% and Singapore’s is was commissioned in June 2014. and the Land Public Transport 55%; however, PJ’s rate is alarm- The study covered all areas Commission (SPAD). ingly low, below 10%. What this of improvement needed for PJ means is that if the population of as a city, this included TOD and Addressing Low Public PJ continues to grow at the rates proper planning of public trans- Transportation Usage Rates projected and such growth is not portation. This made MBPJ the followed with improved public first local council to embark of transportation, the city will face a A comparison of population such an ambitious exercise. major traffic crisis which will neg- densities and public transporta- In 2014, we identified 7 TOD atively affect its economy and the tion usage rates in Hong Kong, zones for the amendment of the wellbeing of its citizens. Singapore and PJ underlines a PJ Local Plan (RTPJ1 and RTPJ2). serious problem faced by PJ and Efforts to avert such a sce- The zones are set within a 400 many other Malaysian cities. The nario through new developments meter radius from existing MRT/ population density of PJ is 7000 faced challenges as Traffic -Im LRT/KTM stations. pact Assessments (TIAs) were not people per square kilometer, The 7 zones are: 28 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

In December 2013, as a member of the OSC, I proposed the execution of the PJ Master Transportation Plan 2016- 2025. The proposal was accepted and a study on the Plan was commissioned in June 2014. The study covered all areas of improvement needed for PJ as a city, this included TOD and proper planning of public transportation. This made MBPJ the first local council to embark of such an ambitious exercise. i. Taman Jaya LRT Station, ratio remains at a maximum of lines, which were devised in Sep- ii. Ara Damansara LRT2 station, 4. While this figure has raised tember 2015 are to be gazetted many queries as it is not the soon. The guidelines for TOD in iii. One Utama MRT Station, common practice for TOD, we Selangor include the following iv. The Curve MRT Station, insist on it; at least until the in- areas: v. Dataran Sunway MRT station, tegration of the public transpor- We, in MBPJ, find the guide- vi. PJU5 MRT station and tation is improved and ridership lines to be too general in nature vii. Setia Jaya Commuter Station. has increased. and we see the need to estab- Given that the study on the The Selangor Department lish more detailed planning re- Master Transportation Plan is for City and Rural Planning quirements for the 7 TOD zones ongoing, we have not set a high- (JPBD) has drawn fundamental identified in our study. Hence, we er plot ratio for TOD zones, the guidelines for TOD. The guide- have set up a TOD Special Tech-

TOD 1 Feature Development of Mixed and Other Activities TOD 2 Increases in The Intensity of Development (Density & Plot Ratio) TOD 3 Terms of Affordable Units in Residential Zone Business Land Use TOD 4 Addition of Business Affordable Living Conditions TOD 5 Requirements of Pedestrians and Bikes (Walkable/ Bikable) TOD 6 Providing Adequate Community Facilities TOD 7 Reduction of The Parking Requirements TOD 8 Provision of ‘Feeder Buses’ TOD 9 Promoting Green Building Concepts ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 29 nical Committee to undertake tial or Commercial) and Conclusion this task. We have identified the Industry as categories for challenges which require ad- land classification. Mixed- In conclusion, the way for- dressing, they are as follows: used categories are not ward for TOD in PJ is that we be listed in the NLC. 1) Conflicting policies towards fixed on the locations of Trans- TOD, i.e TOD versus parking 4) Coordination of different portation Hubs while also ad- requirements and giving government and private dressing the following: Special higher plot ratio and resi- agencies involved in TOD Open Space policy, Special Local dential density developments are quite Zoning Plan for TOD, Land Usage 2) District Local plans (gen- sensitive and complicated. for Mix-Developments and the erally in Malaysia, except 5) Managing public percep- Formula for affordable housing for the KL City Plan) do not tions and concern is a time in TOD Zones. TOD is definitely recognize mixed-use devel- consuming process. the future of PJ, what matters opment zoning. All mixed- 6) Making sure that TOD bal- here is that we work towards used development is legal- ances between meeting so- that future through meticulous ly zoned as commercial. cial needs and maintaining planning and thorough public 3) The National Land Code financial feasibility. engagement. (NLC) only recognized Agri- culture, Building (Residen- 30 | REFSA QUARTERLY ISSUE 1, 2016

LIBRARY FOR SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

The library which is part of REFSA was set up in September 2015. With over 10,000 books and documents in English, Bahasa Malaysia, and Chinese, the Library is an open resource hub that en- gages academics, politicians, and citizens in critical dialogue about local and global society, politics and economics. By giving the public access to its resources, the Library aims to encourage users to actively engage in policy debate on public issues.

Tuesday Night Conversations: Can Social Democracy change our world?

In December 2015, Two young Social Democrats, Edry Faizal Yusof and Chiong Yoke Kong chaired the Social Reader 1 reading session and share their thoughts on how Social Democracy can be a third way to change the world.

Political Education Workshop : Why Ideology?

On 18 March 2016, REFSA hosted Prof Thomas Meyer who is a former head of the Academy of Social Democracy, Germany, at the Library to chair the Political Education Workshop : Why Ideology? ISSUE 1, 2016 REFSA QUARTERLY | 31

Kerajaan Korup, Pembangkang Lemah: Masihkah Ada Harapan Untuk Anak Muda?

On 27 May 2016, Selangor state assemblywoman for Yeo Bee Yin organized a youth forum at the Library.

Political Philosophy: What Is Politics?

REFSA and DAP Political Education Department coorganised a political philosophy class for members of the public and political workers in March 2016. The speaker, Dr Tony See, who is a lecturer in National University of Singapore (NUS) introduced Classical and Medieval Political Thoughts and delved into key concepts such as Justice, Right, Sovereignty and Law.

REFSA, The City Institute

REFSA was established in 2004 and had been pivotal in BERSIH 1.0. Over the years, REFSA has distinguished itself as one of the few independent think tanks offering meticulously researched papers on various issues of national interest including its popular 2013 series on the Malaysian federal budget as well as on the government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). Today, building on our twin values of rigorous and yet accessible research, REFSA aims to position ourselves as the City Institute of Malaysia, offering policy-level ideas and solutions on governing our cities and towns. We engage with policymakers from across the spectrum, academics, and activists drawing from their knowledge and experiences and then offering our analysis to improve governance and policymaking. REFSA also produces good quality and accessible books and reports related to our research, including the highly popular book on Malaysia federal government budgetary process, "The Dark Side of the Budget". We also organise conferences, dialogues, forums and roundtables to discuss issues relevant to Malaysia. REFSA is a non-profit autonomous think tank and hence we are dependent on the generosity of our supporters to sustain our work.

Please visit our website at www.refsa.org, facebook at www.facebook.com/refsa, and twitter at @inforefsa. For enquiries, book orders, or to make a donation, please contact [email protected].

Published by Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) 2nd Floor, Wenworth Building, Jalan Yew, Off Jalan Pudu, 55100, Kuala Lumpur