Mengaplikasikan Konsep Bandar Sejahtera di Seluruh Sarawak

Ekstraks ucapan penutupan YB Datuk Amar SUK pada 7th Kuching Healthy City Conference di Bintulu - 20/09/2002

Tema yang dipilih bagi persidangan ini iaitu "Environment and Public Health" amat bertepatan sekali dengan keadaan semasa di dunia hari ini. "The World Summit on Sustainable Development" yang telah diadakan di Johannesberg baru-baru ini juga menekankan betapa perlunya umat manusia memelihara dan memulihara alam sekitar bagi menentukan segala bentuk pembangunan yang kita lakukan adalah dijalankan dengan cara yang mampan demi keperluan generasi dunia yang akan datang.

Negeri Sarawak sedang mengalami proses urbanisasi yang amat pesat semenjak abad yang lepas. Jumlah penduduk bandar di negeri ini bertambah pada kadar 5.32%, iaitu dari 616,837 orang dalam tahun 1991 kepada 996,994 orang dalam tahun 2000. Kadar penduduk yang mendiami kawasan bandar meningkat dari 18% pada tahun 1980 kepada 37.5% pada tahun 1991. Seterusnya dalam tahun 2000, peratus penduduk yang mendiami kawasan-kawasan bandar di Sarawak telah mencapai lebih kurang 48.1% daripada jumlah penduduk di Sarawak.

Pertambahan penduduk serta proses perindustrian yang pesat akan menimbulkan pelbagai isu persekitaran khususnya di kawasan bandar seperti pengurusan sisa-sisa buangan, pencemaran alam sekitar, pengurusan premis-premis makanan, pembangunan industri-industri kecil yang tidak teratur, isu-isu perumahan dan sebagainya.

Topik-topik yang telah dibincangkan sepanjang persidangan ini amatlah bertepatan sekali dengan tema yang telah dipilih serta perkembangan semasa ... hasil daripada bengkel yang telah diadakan akan dapat membantu pihak berkuasa tempatan seperti dewan bandaraya, majlis perbandaran dan perancang-perancang bandar untuk merancang dan membangunkan kawasan bandar dengan lebih teratur serta menangani isu-isu berkaitan dengan lebih bijak. Ini bukan sahaja dapat diaplikasikan di negeri Sarawak, malah di mana sahaja di seluruh negara kita Malaysia.

I am glad that this conference discussed issues that we have not looked at in depth before as they are more difficult to solve. Food premises, markets and motor repair shops are basic needs where our population rely on for their everyday, basic suppies. As they become more aflluent, the expectation of the population is higher. They would like to become clients who can shop and eat at cleaner, healthier and more pleasant settings such as markets and food premises. I believe that all the local councils will take the initiatives to improve and keep improving the conditions of the infrastructures.

Kuching Healthy City programme is in its eighth year of implementation. I am glad to know that the programme is recognised as one of the successful models in the region, and it has often been used as a model to follow. I understand that Kuching City has been successful in implementing small but doable and achievable activities as well as influenced certain decisions especially in terms of urban planning. These include projects such as motorcycle lanes, gazzettement of greens and parks, enactment of various Acts and Regulations, formation of taskforces to address difficult issues such as resettlement of squatters, river bank villages, and so on.

The State Government is currently emphasising on the development of a healthy urban environment in the State. The Government is facing a big challenge to provide better facilities, utilities and physical infrastructures in the urban areas with minimal environmental degradation. Emphasis is placed on addressing environmental and resources issues in an integrated and holistic manner in order to create a healthy urban environment. No doubt, a healthy urban environment would lead to a better health and better quality of life of the citizens.

A good urban planning is vital to ensure that urban problems brought by the urbanisation process are minimised. Urban planning, by positively influencing a variety of conditions in cities, can promote health and the quality of life. In this respect, the State Government is emphasising on the incorporation of Healthy Cities concept in the urban planning and urban management in the State. The Healthy Cities concept is one way towards achieving healthy urban planning and urban management. Today, Healthy City concept has been adopted by many cities and towns in the world.

The State is targeted to implement the Healthy City Programme throughout the State. I understand that Miri is the second town to implement this programme and started the Healthy Miri Town programme in 2000. Apart from this programme, Miri is also implementing various other initiatives such as Local Agenda 21. In such a situation, the Resident will have a task to coordinate all these programmes; otherwise there will be overlap of activities and so on. People should not be scared when faced with such a situation because Healthy Town programme will look at certain aspects of the town, while Local Agenda 21 will look at another aspect of the town. Both initiatives should compliment one another to help make the town a better place to live in.

Serian District Council is a relatively small council. They have managed to implement the Healthy Serian Town programme in 2001. The Healthy Cities State Steering Committee has also endorsed the Serian Healthy Market as a successful Healthy Settings project. This project has since become one of the permanent site visits for Healthy Cities study tour groups. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Serian District Council and collaborating agencies for having successfully implementing and sustaining the programme. I am proud to know that their staff are committed especially under the leadership of the previous Council Secretary. Their commitment to continuously think of new ways of doing things has among others changed the mind set and the way their staff work. I sincerely hope that with the new leadership, the programme will continue and able to sustain. Other Local Councils can learn from their example – not just to follow but to improve further on them. This way, our towns and settings such as markets and food premises will achieve a much better condition then what they are today.

To meet the State target of one Healthy Town programme a year, Bintulu Division has started to implement the programme by getting themselves organised, doing ground work such as carrying out situational analysis of the town, and will be organising their first Healthy Bintulu Town programme in October 2002. I believed that Bintulu under the leadership of its Resident and the guidance of their more experienced Kuching counterparts will start the programme on the right track. I also have full confidence that the lead agency and their partner agencies will be fully committed to ensure that their programme will be a successful one.

Even though the conference is still known as the Kuching Healthy City Inter Agency Conference, the workshop outcome as we heard a little while ago is relevant and applicable to any other urban areas in Sarawak – or for that matter any states in Malaysia. Therefore, the outcome should not be regarded as only meant for Kuching city – but should be adapted and adopted by other towns as well. This is in line with our YAB Chief Minister’s wish that Healthy Cities concept be used to plan for urban areas in Sarawak in order to achieve a goal of making Sarawak a Healthy State.

I am glad that issue on documentation, programme evaluation and capacity building was also addressed by one of the groups. Efforts to document should not be ignored. Being one of the successful programmes, other people may want to learn from the experience. If the programme is not documented properly and not made accessible to a wider audience, then it becomes rather difficult for other people to learn from our experience.

I hope Healthy Cities and Towns programme in Sarawak will continue and be sustained, even though there is change in leadership as in the cases of Kuching, Miri and Serian. New leadership should continue to lead, while participating agencies should ensure that they send regular representatives to meetings and conferences on Healthy Cities and Towns. The representatives should also be given authority by the superiors to make certain decisions on behalf of the agencies. This is crucial to ensure continuity and progress of the programme.

Even though our programme is successful and recognised, I would like to remind those of you who are implementing the programme to keep up with the development in the field. Human resource development and capacity building are areas which cannot be neglected. To begin with, Sarawak State Government has started sending relevant officers to attend short courses overseas to enrich their knowledge and skills in the field. We hope to make this as an annual event so that more staff could be given the opportunity to learn about the subject.