The city council is aiming for Ipoh to be a low-carbon city by 2030.
IPOH’s ranking in the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index is a fair assessment, says retired photographer Chen Chee Kong,
“We have to understand what we have now and what we can do. The problem with a lot of Ipoh folk, especially those who are elderly, is their mindset which sees things negatively instead of looking at opportunities. I believe there are many good things happening in this city.
“The people need to work together with the government to make things happen,” said Chen, 75, who worked in Sweden for about 55 years and returned to Ipoh after the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said with the advancement of technology, people could work in Ipoh instead of other cities.
Chen says he is happy to see the changes happening in Ipoh.
“There are so many young people doing e-commerce now.
“We have a lot of empty old buildings and houses, which can be turned into an e-commerce hub or offices,” he said.
“With high-speed Internet, professionals, such as an architect, can just simply work in an office in Ipoh and not need to get stuck in traffic jam in Kuala Lumpur,” he pointed out.
Chen is happy to see the changes happening in Ipoh.
He said people did not complain about traffic congestion in the Perak capital’s city centre in the past but they do now.
“During our time, there might have been a lack of opportunities which forced people to go to other cities or abroad, but things are different now,” he opined.
“Ipoh has vast potential and possibilities for anything, and to groom new and young talents,” he added.
Under the index, Ipoh ranked 465th among cities globally.
Sit Wai Yin, 62, agreed that the ranking was justified, saying that Ipoh could be considered as an up-and-coming city.
The student affairs department director at a local university, said Ipoh had a lot of potential in the tourism sector, with its history and heritage.
Ipoh has leisurely attractions including the Kinta Riverfront Walk.
“We have plenty of locations that can make world-class tourist attractions.
“Seoul in South Korea has the Han River with beautiful parks by the riverside.
“We have our own Kinta Riverwalk, which can be enhanced further with better facilities and maintenance,” he highlighted.
“Our Bukit Kledang has a splendid view of the city and a good spot to see the sunrise.
“I feel that more activities or programmes should be held to attract more tourists,” he added.
Sit also hopes that the city council and relevant agencies will improve their maintenance of infrastructure.
“I think they need to go down to the ground more, to find the problems and resolve them.
“Things like potholes or broken street lights and other amenities should be fixed and regularly maintained,” he said.
He hoped too for more flights between Ipoh and countries in the region.
“Maybe the government can look into introducing flights from Bangkok, Guangzhou or Ho Chi Minh City,” he added.
Ipoh City Watch president Richard Ng said the city council had to provide the necessary infrastructures to attract companies.
“We need to have better roads, more industrial zones and high-speed Internet.
“Investors must be provided with enough information about our industrial development master plan,” he said.
“We also need to attract with incentives more companies to set up operations in the city,” he added.
Ng also said that more job opportunities needed to be created to retain workers, especially the youth, in Ipoh.
“Having more higher learning institutions or international schools in the city can help to attract more professionals to come to the city.
“Many young people from Ipoh have migrated to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang to seek greener pastures because there are not many job opportunities here and the salaries offered are way too low for them to feed their family,” he said.
In terms of quality of life, Ng said more activities needed to be created to make the city more lively.
“These include encouraging the setting up of more healthcare centres, improving hospital facilities, reducing traffic jam and providing more facilities that cater to the needs of all layers of society.
“Ipoh must also change its image from a sleepy town to a town of happenings,” he said.
“The city council should also ensure the city’s cleanliness, regular garbage collection, provide more parking space and improve walkways that must be friendly to senior citizens and people with different abilities,” he added.
Ng said more should be done for the environment, especially when the city council had aimed to turn Ipoh into a low-carbon city by 2030.
“The mayor wants Ipoh to be a city of gardens, but it has not materialised.
“A number of trees have been chopped down and not replaced,” Ng noted.
“As for the walkable city plan, I feel the current walkways are insufficient, not friendly to senior citizens and folk with disabilities.
“It was reported that Ipoh has the highest temperature in Malaysia, which I think is due to lack of greenery in the city, increased limestone quarrying activities, traffic congestion, poor public transportation system and a lack of control on carbon emission,” he added. — By IVAN LOH
