MIPPEA 2024: S P Setia, Sime Darby, Sunway amongst main winners

• The developers’ respective master-planned townships were recognised for their design excellence.
• In his speech, Anwar highlighted the importance of marrying cultural heritage and urban planning to avoid cities that look too barren.

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): A few prime developers won notable and multiple awards at the Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP) Planning Excellence Awards (MIPPEA) for 2024 held recently.

I&P Alam Impian Sdn Bhd — a wholly owned subsidiary of S P Setia Bhd — and Urban Scale Studio Sdn Bhd won the gold Design Excellence Award for large-scale master-planned development (250 acres and above) for the Setia Alam Impian master plan in Selangor. Sunway Iskandar Sdn Bhd and Sunway Iskandar Development Sdn Bhd took home the silver award in this category for Sunway City Iskandar Puteri, Johor.

Held here on Jan 24, the awards have been celebrated annually since 1998, in an aim to encourage excellence in town planning and the transformation of Malaysia’s cities, public spaces, communities and the environment.

Out of the 128 entries received last year, 69 awards in 15 categories were given out to recognise the best in terms of practices and innovative approaches to urban planning and design.

Other notable awards include Majlis Bandaraya Subang Jaya (MBSJ) and Sime Darby Property Bhd winning silver for the Design Excellence Award for medium-scale master-planned development (50–249 acres), with The Glades Development, Putra Heights, Selangor. No gold award was given out for this category.

Sime Darby also, together with Urban Scale Studio, won the bronze Design Excellence Award for small-scale master-planned development (20–49 acres) for Ilham Residences @ City of Elmina, Selangor.

Selangor’s Department of Town and Country Planning (PLANMalaysia) and Planners M Consult Sdn Bhd won gold for the Strategic Planning Award (national & state level) for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) Integrated Land Use Master Plan Study (PeGTA ECRL), while Johor Bahru City Council won gold in the local level category, with the Tebrau Riverescue special area plan.

Sime Darby scored another gold with the Public Space and Placemaking Award (private initiative) for the 70-acre PARC (Project-A-Reka-Cipta) in Taman Subang Ria, Selangor; while MBSJ won gold in the government initiative category for this award, with The Roundabout @ Putra Heights. A special mention was also awarded to Think City Sdn Bhd’s Arts On The Move (AOTM) initiative, which was launched in 2016, with the mission of connecting culture and transit.

“MIP's mission is to promote and enhance the science and art of town and regional planning for the public benefit. The organisation has consistently supported national development initiatives such as Malaysia MADANI, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and New Urban Agenda 2036," said MIP president Datin TPr Hajah Noraida Saludin during her opening speech.

“As Malaysia assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, MIP is committed to advancing regional cooperation in urban planning. This includes spearheading efforts to address common urban challenges such as climate change, urban resilience, and sustainable development.

“I call upon all urban planners, developers, and city managers to foster a shared spirit and synergy among all parties. This is because collaboration is the key to creating positive changes in urban development. Let us elevate urban planning as the foundation for a brighter future, aligning with the vision of Malaysia MADANI,” added Noraida.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also in attendance. His speech touched on a few key topics that would shape the landscape of Malaysian urban planning for the foreseeable future, including the importance of marrying cultural heritage and urban planning to avoid cities that look too barren, and the increasing impact of AI on inclusive urban development.

Anwar also urged Malaysian urban planners to be vigilant and flexible in times of an uncertain geopolitical landscape.

“Malaysians at all levels, including the planners and the civil servants, and of course the political elite and business community too, must take note of what is happening because we are now dealing with post-normal times — it is no longer normal as there is so much uncertainty and unpredictability. We have to focus on the development of our country. Politically we must be strong, and have a clarity of economic policies, to try our level best, to improve and advance in every single field — to be more efficient in terms of ease of doing business. Unless we in Malaysia consider this of paramount importance, we will lose out in this competitive age and in this uncertain period,” said Anwar.

New category introduced: Best Media Content in Planning

A new category of awards, Best Media Content in Planning, was introduced this year, where EdgeProp Malaysia’s head of editorial & branding, Jacqueline Lim, participated as a part of the judging panel. The awards were divided into two sub-categories: online media and article.

Catopia Shah Alam, a project by the Landscape Department and Environmental Health Department of Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) won gold for the online media sub-category, while Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL)’s “Building A Greener Future: Kuala Lumpur's Smart City Initiatives And Carbon Emission Reduction” won gold in the article sub-category.

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