Time to re-define development
Development is reaching saturation level in many parts of the country, says PKR MP Yusmadi Yusoff.
Hawkeye, FMT
There is a need to re-define what development means to the average Malaysians given the rapid pace of modernisation, a PKR parliamentarian said.
Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff said development has reached saturation level in many parts of the country and hence, there is a need to re-define development.
He said this is necessary in view of the rapid growth of infrastructure, industries, roadworks, housing and social amenities over the last 50 years.
Citing Penang, Yusmadi said there is now a widespread sense of unhappiness over the level of development taking place here.
Penang is said to be over-devloped to the extent that even hillslopes are not spared in the hectic race to modernisation.
This has caused some adverse effects: environmental degradation, traffic congestion and the emergence of slums in midst of luxurious condominiums and landed bungalows.
Pockets of squatters are also facing eviction as developers scurry around to ensure their projects get underway before the effects of global recession set in.
Yusmadi said the country can no longer deal with development through half-baked solutions and an unholistic approach.
The time has come to re-visit development in the proper context.
Don’t give in to greed
“What does development mean to Malaysians? Is more wealth generated from it? Have we progressed in our own age of industralisation, or are we slowly but surely becoming the urban poor?” Yusmadi asked.
“Do Malaysians want to see their green lungs disappear or do they want to salvage them?”
He said he would raise this matter in Parlaiment when it convenes this month.
