14 & 16 December 2021 – Malaysia Country Level Event

Part I. Framing & Knowledge Sharing
Welcome by UKBEAG and Link to the 6 key themes of the UKBEAG Capacity Development Programme and the findings of the Capacity Needs Assessment. Opening remarks by HE Charles Hay, British High Commissioner to Malaysia.
Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican, Director of the National Budget Office at the Ministry of Finance gave a presentation on the 12th Malaysian Plan & the National Budget. Senior Vice President at the Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Mrs Kamisha Mohd Ghazali gave a short presentation on the Implementation Strategy for Smart Integrated Mobility Management System (SIMMS) and Evidence-Based Urban and Transport Planning, lessons learnt & key challenges. Mr Muhammad Shahrul Hafidz, Principal Assistant State Secretary in the Melaka Economic Planning Unit gave a short presentation on Melaka Mobility Plan, lessons learnt & key challenges

Part II. Workshop 1. Integrated Transport, From Policy to Practice
Mr Chris Lane, Head of Transport Innovation, Transport for West Midlands gave a presentation on focussing on integration in practice: (addressing operational aspects of integrated public transport systems inc integration of private sector operators). Ms Victoria Delbridge, Head of Cities that Work, International Growth Centre gave a short framing presentation on Fiscal Incentives.

Part III. Workshop 2. Delivering Effective Outcomes: Focusing on next steps
Ms Victoria Delbridge, Head of Cities that Work, International Growth Centre gave a presentation focussing on Governance & Collaboration and ‘what does good look like?’ Dr Nick Goodwin, Director of International Programmes, Asia Pacific, Behavioural Insight Team gave a presentation on focusing on Changing Behaviours (Public & Private Sector), aligning standards and accelerating modal shift.

Key Takeaways:

• Urban land use planning and transport planning are intrinsically interlinked – to achieve mobility objectives in Iskandar and Melaka and to ensure public transit systems can be affordable and sustainable, there is an urgent need to contain urban sprawl and promote higher density, more inclusive development. This will require a focus on land use regulation reform.
• Fiscal incentives for transport should align with a modal shift away from private vehicle use.
• Congestion and emissions have huge economic costs, and therefore quantifying the savings from improved transport management should help in motivating finance. The cost of using private vehicles needs to include their cost to the city through increased taxes or interest rates on cars, reducing fossil fuel subsidies, using congestion charges and tolls, and increasing parking fees. This creates a win–win situation whereby congestion is alleviated and funds are made available for investment in safe and high-quality public transit systems.
• Mobility choices are often an emotional response rather than a logical one – modal shift reforms, therefore, need to focus on the individual and what motivates them – perhaps following the EAST (easy, attractive, social and timely) approach outlined by the Behavioural Insights Team. At Transport for West Midlands, the population has been segmented into personas and extensive market research was done to understand their views and behaviours. Research has also shown that targeting wealthier segments of the population in designing mobility reform can have larger impacts overall than targeting the poor, as the quality of services is often better and it removes any stigma associated with public transit.