“Yesterday, I was given recognition in the Malaysia Book of Records as the first Asian to be appointed as executive director, the first woman in Asia, as well as the first in Malaysia.
“I wish to thank the state government for its strong support when I was carrying out my duties as a civil servant,” she told a press conference here today.
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres recently announced Maimunah’s appointment as head of UN-Habitat, which is based in Kenya.
Maimunah previously managed Penang Island’s George Town World Heritage Site, the oldest part of Malaysia’s second largest city, which is popular with tourists for its colonial history and architecture.
As executive director of UN-Habitat, Maimunah will work to boost donor funding for the 40-year-old agency, previously under former Barcelona mayor Joan Clos.
Another key focus will be implementing the agency’s New Urban Agenda, a 20-year vision for sustainable cities, adopted at last year’s Habitat III conference in Ecuador.
At the same press conference, Maimunah said the MBPP had received a letter from the tourism and culture ministry to inform it that it had fulfilled the criteria under the Asean Clean Tourist City (ACTC) 2017.
“We were not informed of our score.
“This goes to show that we are already moving towards international standards in terms of cleanliness and tourism,” she said.
An announcement on the ACTC will be made at an Asean ceremony in Chiangmai, Thailand, on Jan 26.
Maimunah hoped the achievements of the MBPP will be recognised at this conference.