Halimaton Saadiah Hashim

A sustainable city index for Malaysia

The assessment of a sustainable city is always related to the selection of sustainable development indicators. There are few initiatives for integrating indicators from various sectors to become an integrated index in Malaysia, whereas issues of sustainable development are interrelated. In search of an adequate set of indicators to develop an index, some existing indicators and indices have been reviewed. The purpose of this article is to develop a set of criteria, indicators and indices for sustainability assessment in major cities of Malaysia. The study is focused on the state indicators, and an indicator framework has been developed. Thirty indicators have been identified based on rationality and availability. The results show the score of indices range from 0.45 to 0.72. Sensitivity analysis has been conducted, showing that, overall, the major cities in Malaysia have a moderate performance towards development of a sustainable city. Their major weaknesses are in management and environmental services.

Integrated Models for Solid Waste Management in Tourism Regions: Langkawi Island, Malaysia

The population growth, changing consumption patterns, and rapid urbanization contribute significantly to the growing volumes of solid waste that are generated in urban settings. As the rate of urbanization increases, demand on the services of solid waste management increases. The rapid urban growth in Langkawi Island, Malaysia, combined with the increasing rates of solid waste production has provided evidence that the traditional solid waste management practices, particularly the methods of waste collection and disposal, are inefficient and quite nonsustainable. Accordingly, municipal managers and planners in Langkawi need to look for and adopt a model for solid waste management that emphasizes an efficient and sustainable management of solid wastes in Langkawi Island. This study presents the current practices of solid waste management in Langkawi Island, describes the composition of the solid waste generated in that area, and presents views of local residents and tourist on issues related to solid waste management like the aesthetic value of the island environment. The most important issue of this paper is that it is the first time that integrated solid waste management is investigated in the Langkawi Island.