Siti Sarah Sulaiman

Harmonising the Attributes of Shariah Compliant Hotel with the Concept of Sustainable Hotel Development Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976

Hotel industry forms a larger part of halal tourism. If development of a hotel is not properly regulated, it can cause adverse impact to the environment. Adherence to the planning procedures particularly on the aspects of sustainable development can also be considered as part of criteria of a Shariah Compliant Hotel (SCH). As a Khalifah in this universe, it is the responsibility of the men to protect the environment by controlling development activities. This paper will discuss the aspect of harmonising the attributes of SCH with the concept of sustainable development provided under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976. In completing this paper, a qualitative research method was employed. The data for the study was collected using library-based method together with semi-structured interviews with the local planning authority. Observation was also made on the Shariah compliant hotels. The finding reveals that the concept of sustainable development in the planning system should be integrated with three accreditation standards important for the implementation of SCH which are MS1500:2009, MS1900:2005 and MS2610:2015 in order to strengthen the implementation of halal tourism.

Negotiating development as an alternative mechanism in fostering sustainable development in Malaysia: A legal and planning issues

The concept of negotiating development has brought changes to the nature of land use planning system. Negotiation has been defined as ‘to try to reach an agreement or to settle a dispute by formal discussion’. For the purpose of this paper it refers to the practice of negotiating planning agreements between developers and the local planning authorities in regulating land use development. As contrary to the traditional system of command and control approach, negotiating development will only be concluded upon agreement reached by both parties. Thus, there is greater likelihood that developers will comply with the element of development control as stated in the agreement. This concept is not new. The mechanism to control development through planning agreement has long been established in the United Kingdom and Australia. Apart from that, planning agreement is also used to avoid uncertainties in the development plan and it is used as means to procure planning gains. The recognition and the process of adapting this mechanism have been discussed in depth by renowned scholars of planning law. However, its application in Malaysia has not been validated by any literature. Nonetheless, several decided cases have shown that the concept of negotiating development has been practices indirectly in Malaysia. Therefore it is the intention of the writer to discuss the legal aspect of negotiating development as an alternative mechanism to foster sustainable development in Malaysia. The present scenario of development control under the purview of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (TCPA 1976) and significant planning issues will be highlighted.