KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 – The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) is looking to create a Malaysia-Cambridge urban platform to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 under the Madani economy plan.
Its Minister, Nga Kor Ming, mentioned that teaming up with the University of Cambridge would boost strategic alliances with top global institutions focused on sustainable city growth.
“Malaysia’s strong economic growth and improving global competitiveness reflect the nation’s resilience as a formidable trading economy in Asia despite ongoing geopolitical tensions, and it is timely for the country to step up efforts to establish strategic partnerships with the world’s top institutions,” he said in a statement today.
Nga recently gave a keynote speech at the first Forum on Housing and Urban Planning held at Downing College, University of Cambridge. He’s actually the first minister from the Madani government invited to speak there.
He pointed out that Malaysia working closely with Cambridge shows the government’s dedication to international cooperation and positions Malaysia as an active partner in building affordable, resilient, and inclusive cities.
The forum was put together by the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Institute, University of Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin University, and the Cambridge University Malaysian Students Association. It also aims to encourage Malaysian students studying abroad to come back home and help develop the country.
During his speech, Nga shared five main focuses under Malaysia’s housing and urban plans tied to SDGs. One key point is boosting the National Affordable Housing Policy by setting price limits at RM300,000 aligned with district median income levels.
He noted that Malaysia’s home ownership rate has hit 76.5 percent-higher than places like Germany, the UK, and Australia.
The other goals include promoting climate-friendly housing through transit-oriented development and nature-based solutions; improving land use planning via a national urban observatory; plus bringing abandoned housing projects back to life.
Nga highlighted that since 2023 nearly 1,350 abandoned projects have been revived. This helped over 167,000 homebuyers and unlocked RM133.78 billion in value. He stressed strong local authorities are vital for creating sustainable cities by boosting their capacity through digital tools, training programs, and better governance.
He added that through five Madani housing reforms, they aim for “zero” sick or abandoned private housing projects by 2030 while also enhancing how high-density living is governed via updates to the Strata Management Act.
Under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership, Nga said Malaysia’s macroeconomic fundamentals are turning around-with GDP growth hitting 6.3 percent in late 2025 plus record approved investments totaling RM426.7 billion. – Bernama
