Page 13 - Asia Speaks

U1) URBAN RESILIENCE by Ahmad Naziruddin Bin Zakaria
rban resilience refers to among our niche of urban resilience the ability of an urban is counter-terrorism. The aftermath community adapting of September 11, had opened the
adding to Malaysia annual flood happening at the east coast of peninsular. In an effort to preserve the river of Klang, government- initiated on turning the surrounding into and recreational leisure area under the project of River of Life. This is to nurture and cultivate the sense of responsibility among Malaysian to preserve the river. In a state of Kelantan, for example, deforestation is identified as one of the many reasons which aggravate the flood situation. The complicated situation resulted from different state jurisdiction from the federal government. The forestry affairs are under the responsibility of state control, but in the case of handling the natural disaster, it is a collective and joint effort. Therefore, the state must have the political will to enact laws prohibiting illegal deforestation, to minimize the occurrence of a flood.
To conclude, Malaysia has a long way to go in achieving urban resilience status. The yardstick on becoming one must not solely be based on the existing scholarship or academic material instead of through continuous transition according to the suitability of Malaysian context.
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and transforming into changes towards sustainability in the long run. The theme of urban resilience often involves three significant threats which are climate change, natural disaster and terrorism. Folke et al. (2006) discussed urban resilience with respect to its complex ecological system with its sustainable management. Government and policymakers are incorporating the concept of resilience into formulating sustainable policies for people, in the context of urban planning and design. As the circumstances vary greatly, urban resilience proposes several channels to achieve resilience such as persistence, transition and transformation. S. Meerow et al. (2006) understand that to achieve urban resilience is so complicated as it involves socio- ecological and socio-technical networks. It conforms towards the aspect of physical and non-physical of urban planning and design.
As a Malaysian citizen, I would like to share my understanding of urban resilience according to the Malaysia context. I would say that
discussion to improvise the existing security system to withstand the sophisticated terrorist threat. US immigration has set stricter rules and visa regulation to admit foreign nationals into its soil. On top of that, the US government had also engaged cooperation with countries known for its counterterrorism program such as Malaysia. The latter has made rigorous effort to combat terrorism from the Islamic radicals and extremist group. Malaysia parliament has enacted Security Offence Act 2012, albeit controversial has managed to abort terrorist ploy to attack major cities in Malaysia. In my view, the challenge of counter-terrorism must be dealt holistically. The enforcement of government agencies must be cemented with a proper education system in school. The existing laws must be utilized to foster social harmony to prevent disunity among Malaysian.
On the other hand, Kuala Lumpur also frequently suffered from the flash flood. The occurrence is due to weak water drainage system coupled with blockage from wastage thrown into the river. The phenomenon has emerged recently