Q1: Could you please share more details with us about Seberang Perai’s smart city vision and strategic direction for becoming a zero-carbon city?    

A1: Seberang Perai has a clear and compelling vision which is “ Seberang Perai aspiring to be a city that is Resilient, Inclusive, Green, Competitive and Technological Driven Smart City”. The outcomes from this vision that can be expected by the people are the transformation of Seberang Perai into a Smart Sustainable City by the year 2030 that is Carbon Neutral. In order to achieve this vision, the new corporate target has been set, making Seberang Perai a Low Carbon City by 2022 through 50% reduction of the carbon emissions from 8.0 tons of CO2e to 4.0 tons of CO2e and reduction of the waste production by 50% from 1.6kg per person per day to 0.8kg per person per day. In addition, Seberang Perai is also striving towards becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2030, which is 10 years from January 2020, and becomes a zero-carbon city by 2050. MBSP is also committed and pledged to work with other cities and countries in the world in addressing climate change and to keep global warming1.5oC above pre-industrial levels.

Q2: What do you think made it possible for Seberang Perai to achieve such accomplishments, and in order to become a carbon-neutral city by 2030 and zero-carbon city by 2050, what further actions will Seberang Perai take?  

A2: Seberang Perai Smart Sustainability City focuses on the combination of soft capital, such as human and social capital, and hard capital, a city’s physical infrastructure, and technology utilization in order to deliver a sustainable, liveable and efficient city. In order to become carbon neutral city by 2030, Seberang Perai City Counc il has set 11 KPIs to be achieved:

1. To increase Seberang Perai recycling rates to 70%;
2. To reduce solid waste generation from 1.6kg per capita to 0.8 kg per capita per day;
3. To reduce GreenHouse Gases (GHG) emissions from 8 tons of CO eq to 4 tons of CO eq;
4. To install 100% LED streetlights;
5. Established Central Business District (CBD) with Transit Oriented Development (TOD) concept for each district;
6. Implement Seberang Perai Circular Economy Roadmap and Seberang Perai Circular Economy Action Plan.
7. Virtual services and cyber counter, technology of IoT, ewallet, were used and until now ie 2021 100 city council services are available virtually;
8. Targeted 100,000 trees will be planted with average 15,000 trees annually;
9. Energy consumption will come from Renewable Energy(RE) at least 15;
10. 100% LED street lamps
11. 20 Minutes Neighbourhood where residents can get their daily needs within 20 minutes walking or cycling.

Q3: Could you share with us more about this Smart Consumption Model and what are some prominent achievements Seberang Perai has gained through this model?  

A3: Seberang Perai Smart Consumption Model consists of 8Rs; Recycle, Refuse, Reduce, Re-use, Repair, Regift, Recover and Rethink. The aim is to reduce landfill dependency by 50%, to change the linear consumption pattern in Seberang Perai into a Circular Consumption Pattern which in turn catalyzes the Circular Economy in Seberang Perai. 8Rs Smart Consumption Model was introduced in green school campaign, to cultivate children’s attitude towards consumption and efficient use of resources. It was also brought to educate the community to be sustainable, separation at source, cleaner and greener environment.

Q4: Could you share more about your experience and how WeGO’s partnership with Seberang Perai has contributed to the city’s smart, sustainable development?

A4: Seberang Perai has been an active member of WeGO since 2012. Seberang Perai was the BENEFICIARY of the 2016 WeGO Smart Sustainable Cities Feasibility Study Program on Smart Street Lamp and Traffic Light Monitoring, which was conducted by Gabotech. The three parties share several years of cooperation, through knowledge-sharing seminars and capacity building, etc. Seberang Perai is committed to smart city development, winning the WeGO awards in 2017 in the category of Digital Inclusion. In a world of rapid technological change, WeGO has become one of our main resources for connection in learning about the latest proven technology happening around the world nowadays. Learning and experiencing hands-on smart city component project management has enabled us to value most commitment from idea brainstorming to project realization.

Q5:  Can you share with us more about the city’s smart city priorities?  

A5: MBSP’s priorities when it comes to building a smart city is to alleviate daily inefficiencies, to provide faster services and simplicity while empowering the Seberang Perai community to live and work in a smarter city environment while also allowing the public to know how to exercise their rights. Present local issues that need to be addressed are i) Flash Flood; ii) Traffic Congestion; iii) Service Delivery; iv) Safety; v) Economic Bounce back after it was impacted by COVID19; vi) Reduced Waste Generation. Seberang Perai Smart City will be structured around five (5) people-centric strategic initiatives, namely, Smart Environment, Smart Community, Smart Government, Smart Mobility, and Smart Economy.

Q6: Moving forward, What roles do you expect WeGO to play as your city continues to achieve your goals? And how can WeGO best serve your city in Seberang Perai’s smart city projects?

A6:  1. Training and funding to create a Digital Neighbourhood which will provide value-added services and cutting-edge facilities for developing, producing, and exchanging innovative tools and applications. 2. Eco-sufficiency or Energy conservation either uses energy more efficiently or reduces the amount of service used. 3. The integration of flood mitigation and recreational parks, underground water storage, IoT technologies for flood warning systems. 4. Sustainable Solid Waste Management system will focus on waste diversion, material recovery, waste to protein, waste to energy, waste to compost. 5. Smart mobility where electric vehicles or cycling will be mainstreamed.

Seberang Perai is committed to continuing relationships through programs with WeGO and building a stronger foundation for cooperation between Malaysia and Korea. Seberang Perai will be grateful if WeGO could provide grants or sponsorship to develop more smart city projects.