BY: FARAHANA RAZAK

In the past few decades, Malaysia has witnessed an accelerated pace of development and the most visible sector of these changes is in the lucrative and money spinning building and construction sector.

But is Malaysia today overbuilt, especially the Klang Valley, which is the nucleus of the nation, and has the country overdone itself in this sector, and failed to subscribe to the theme and necessity of sustainability?

In its place, what has evolved is the sheer greed of developers jumping on the bandwagon to develop every visible piece of vacant land and in the process causing havoc to climate change in the country.

Is there really a need to replace lush green jungles with concrete jungles? The built environment has become terribly overbuilt that there are many properties in locations all over the country that are abandoned and have become an eyesore.

Even green lungs that were gazetted have been de-gazetted and developed into residential and commercial areas while forest reserves have also not been spared from the onslaught of the sheer avarice of developers.

While there should be development taking place, it must always be sustainable, and developers have the tricky task of having to develop on one hand and preserve the environment and therefore they are advised to take the middle path.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher