He said the “American lifestyle” adopted by Malaysia of sprawling suburbs, highways and dependence on private cars is not good for the climate and comes at a very high cost.

“We, as a nation, should gather all resources to at least provide decent housing in inner cities for a younger set of population who are working in the cities,” he said in his speech at the recent annual dinner of the Malaysian Institute of Architects.

For example, instead of developing townships in the outskirts, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and its major arm Sime Darby should strive to ensure the 15,000 workers who will work at Merdeka 118 can find accommodation within walking distance.

This is especially for those who are earning less than RM5,000 a month, Liew said.

He added that over the last 50 years, government-linked companies (GLCs) and property developers have profited hugely from turning plantation estates into housing estates.

“And, for the past 40 years, the government was also actively involved in selling cars and building highways. However, there was not much public funds used to subsidise the provision of bus services.”

“While the inner city heritage buildings are dilapidated, many Malaysians spend hours commuting from suburbs to cities to work daily, and the young are not able to afford decent housing, whether to own or to rent,” he said.

Liew also highlighted that caring for the ageing nation in towns and cities without adequate public transport connectivity could exaggerate physical isolation and make the provision of care harder.

He said that Malaysian urban planners and leaders inherited an “ambivalent attitude” towards cities from the British, with an inherent urge to curb city growth and move people to the suburbs or idealised rural communities.

“For instance, even in the 1950s, Kuala Lumpur was thought to be too congested and thus Petaling Jaya was developed as a ‘satellite city’. If those planners knew how congested Kuala Lumpur is today, they would turn in their graves.”