But the Covid-19 pandemic brought this bustling city to almost a standstill. Many businesses were forced to close while a considerable number of middle-income earners slipped into the low-income group.
As efforts to reinvigorate the economy get under way, Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Razak believes Kuala Lumpur needs to remain a “pleasant city” to attract tourists and revive struggling businesses.
Instead of constructing more buildings which would result in a greater property glut, he said the government should look at ways of fine-tuning facilities in the city.
“It must be a pleasant city to visit,” he told FMT, adding that those drafting Budget 2022 should include projects and allocations to make it so.
One of the ways was to inject excitement with “out of the box” dining and sightseeing experiences, he said.
Barjoyai said traffic in the city needed to be reduced with the provision of better public transport connectivity. There should also be more one-way streets with special lanes and sheltered walkways to encourage walking and cycling.
For instance, he said, a one-way traffic system could be introduced at the Jalan Ampang stretch in front of Saloma Bistro and Theater Restaurant.
Special carts could be used to ferry visitors from hotels to the scenic Taman Tasik Titiwangsa for lunch or a jog.
“Taman Tasik Perdana is almost forgotten, and efforts are needed to attract people there too,” he said.
He suggested that Kuala Lumpur City Hall look for ways to connect skyscrapers such as Merdeka 118 Tower, KL Tower and Kuala Lumpur City Centre to Brickfields.
Most of these projects, he added, could be carried out by the private sector.
Green projects to boost economy
Economist Yeah Kim Leng of Sunway University said a significant portion of the urban poor needed assistance after suffering a loss of income and jobs.
Saying these and the higher cost of living would likely cause the urban poor to fall into the hardcore poverty group, he urged the federal government to allocate an appropriate budget to aid them.
Yeah said one way to boost Kuala Lumpur’s economy was to initiate green projects, adding that this was in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan’s objective of developing sustainable cities and lowering the carbon footprint.
“There are so many jobless people (including professionals) in Kuala Lumpur.
“The government could use their manpower and skills to turn Kuala Lumpur into a green and smart city, and give the projects to SMEs to spur the economy,” he said.