Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan

At Your Servicesettle wherever they can find vacant land – on hill slopes, in flood-plains, or inother high-risk areas. By setting aside land for squatter relocation, the process ofhousing squatters can be structured in a way that is consistent with the officialdevelopment plans of the city, that is, the city structure plan and city local plan.The People’s Housing Programme was an initiative to house squatters andlonghouse dwellers officially identified in the 1998 census, in government-built,low-cost high-rise flats. Another major issue is that of transportation. An efficientpublic transport system would lessen the amount of time that citizens would haveto spend on the road.An automobile-centred urban transport system, however, would add to congestionon the roads, frustration of road users and more carbon dioxide gas being releasedinto the atmosphere. Urban air pollution, often largely due to automobiles, addsto the problems of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.The Federal Territories Ministry has organised a series of retreats and roundtable discussions with Federal Territory residents, professional bodies and nongovernmentalorganisations, in which issues of transportation have been discussedat length.From the resolutions of these retreats anddiscussions, the ministry aspires to improvebus and rail services, particularly in KualaLumpur and Putrajaya, to increase the use ofpublic transport.Citizens are encouraged to contribute to thisobjective by switching from private car useto public transport.With support and cooperation from citizens, the Government will be in a betterposition to improve the quality of life in the cities.50