SDGS, SMART URBANISATION AND POLITICS: STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIPS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CASES IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

Consequent to the declaration of achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by United Nations in 2016, most of the countries with capitalist politics have chosen to adopt “smart urbanisation” as a tool to help them gear up for national development. However, research shows that most countries, including Malaysia, are not on the right track. Thus, this research paper aims to examine the alternative political policies besides that of a capitalist/liberal democracy, such as ecological democracy, that the Malaysian smart urbanisation movement should follow to achieve the SDGs. This study applied the method of case study analysis in examining empirical examples related to stakeholder partnerships and environmental cases in smart urbanisation in Malaysia. This paper argues that achieving the SDGs with the current capitalist hegemony poses a significant challenge to countries. However, with environmental ethics in mind, it is possible to achieve the SDGs with the trust granted by the government in the form of participatory politics. The SDGs also need to be overhauled and rewritten under the realm of ecological democracy. The implications of the findings include creating a call for support for an emerging ecological democracy that is particularly compatible with the SDGs as well as embedded in the natural environment, social and economic developments.