Melaka: The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) has embarked on a new initiative to transform public spaces across Malaysia, aligning them with international standards through the MY Public Space initiative.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the initiative, announced by Minister Nga Kor Ming, is a collaboration between KPKT and UN-Habitat. It aims to create public spaces that are higher in quality, inclusive, safe, and resilient. The announcement was made during the 2026 National Landscape Day Celebration and is intended to enhance the well-being of Malaysians by aligning urban development with the needs and aspirations of its people.
Nga highlighted that the initiative is structured around four main focuses: establishing a national recognition framework aligned with the Rosa Sinensis Award, implementing the MY Public Space Toolkit pilot project, strengthening public space management practices, and integrating the toolkit into national landscape development guidelines and policies. He emphasized that this strategic collaboration with UN-Habitat is expected to elevate Malaysia's public space standards on a global scale and enhance the country's image in sustainable and inclusive urban development.
The initiative is also aligned with Malaysia's role as the President of the UN-Habitat Assembly, supporting the acceleration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through international cooperation and effective action.
In a separate development, Nga announced a government target to develop 1,000 MADANI Parks nationwide by 2035. This initiative aims to ensure that communities have access to quality green spaces. From 2024 to 2025, 217 parks have been successfully developed, surpassing the initial annual target, with plans to continue this momentum in 2026.
Nga also discussed the national landscape industry's contribution to the economy, projecting it could add up to RM40 billion to Malaysia's GDP by 2035. This growth is expected through increasing investment and exports in landscape products and services. In 2025, Malaysia exported RM534.3 million worth of landscape products to destinations such as Singapore, Japan, Australia, and the United States.
To support these developments, KPKT, through the National Landscape Department, is preparing the Malaysian Landscape Industry Blueprint. This strategic guide will focus on workforce capacity building, industry standard coordination, green technology innovation, strengthening the landscape value chain, and enhancing local industry competitiveness at both domestic and international levels.