THE Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has made the state proud when it won the Mobility category in the fourth World Smart Sustainable Cities Organisation (WeGo) Awards recently.
State Local Government, Housing, Town and County Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo congratulated MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang and his team for coming out tops at yet another international level competition.
He said when WeGO was formed in 2010, it had 50 founding members. But today, it has grown to 200 members consisting of local councils, smart technology industry players, regional and international institutions committed to the transformation of sustainable cities.
He added that it was also the objective of all state agencies and local councils to make the state cleaner, greener, safer and healthier as Penang pursues its 2030 vision of a ‘Family Focused, Smart and Green State that Inspires the Nation.’
“I’m very glad that MBPP has emerged victorious in the Mobility category of the 4th WeGO Awards,” Jagdeep told a press conference in Komtar today.
“MBPP submitted two applications, one for Mobility category and another for Sustainable City category. MBPP also made it to the finals of the Sustainable City.
“This award shows that we are being recognised not only at state and national levels, but also at international level.”
WeGO has postponed the award ceremony this year and would announce the new date at a later time.
Yew said the award would further spur MBPP to work harder to provide beneficial services to the people.
“This is the first time we’re participating in the award. The achievement is due to teamwork.
“We’re proud to be chosen as the winner. The victory will inspire us to be more committed to serving the people,” Yew said.
There were six categories in the 4th WeGo Awards and the winners were announced on Sept 29. Besides the Mobility category and Sustainable City category, the other four categories are Efficient Government, Emerging Technology, Open and Inclusive City, and Safe City.
MBPP won the gold in the Mobility category for its Green Connectivity Project that includes Dedicated Bicycle Lane, Business Improvement District Programme, Upgrading Backlanes, Shuttle Bus Service and Penang Smart Parking.
Belo Horizonte took the silver and Tehran received special mention in the Mobility category.
The other categories winners are as follows: Efficient Government – Goyang (gold), Moscow (silver), Makati (special mention); Emerging Technology – Seongnam (gold), Jeju (silver), Lima (special mention), Open and Inclusive City – Sao Paulo (gold), Jakarta (silver) and Sejong (special mention); Safe City – Mexico City (gold), Belo Horizonte (silver) and Goyang (special mention); and Sustainable City – Istanbul (gold), Mashhad (silver) and Iskandar (special mention).
Other previous awards that MBPP has bagged were Green Initiative Award for Sungai Ara Taman Ara Jajar project, Climathon Global Awards, Asean Clean Tourist City (ACTC), Asean Public Toilet Standard 2019-2021, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Special Award, MyPLACE Award, and Diamond Recognition Award.
Also present at the press conference were MBPP councillors Edward Tan and Harvindar Singh.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Chan Kok Kuan