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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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WESAM AL MEDHOUN: Hello, my
name is Wesam Al Medhoun,

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I am a visiting scholar in the
MIT-UTM Malaysia Sustainable

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Cities Program, and assistant
professor at the Islamic

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University of Gaza, Palestine.

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In this video,
I'll be describing

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ways in which Penang,
a city in Malaysia,

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is trying to reduce
vehicle emissions.

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Traffic related
air pollution has

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an adverse impact on the
environment and human health.

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Exposure to traffic emissions
create health problems

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such as higher rates of
asthma, cardiovascular disease,

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and bad development in children,
pre-term and low birth weight

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infants, childhood leukemia,
and premature death.

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Traffic emissions also
contain a large amount

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of carbon dioxide, a
primary greenhouse gas that

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contributes to global warming.

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SPEAKER1: People are burning
huge amounts of coal, oil,

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and natural gas to
generate electricity.

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This releases harmful
greenhouse gases which

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trap heat in the atmosphere.

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SPEAKER 2: No wonder I have
been feeling really warm

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SPEAKER 1: As more
fossil fuels are burned,

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the greenhouse gases will
trap more heat, causing

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your temperature to rise.

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WESAM AL MEDHOUN: Cities
can reduce vehicle emissions

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by reducing private
vehicle ownership,

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by increasing the cost of owning
a vehicle, such as increasing

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cost of a registration,
increasing cost of parking,

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etc, regularly enforcing
emission standards, inspection

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of all vehicles to
eliminate bad cars,

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improving the efficiency
of road networks,

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and providing safe efficient
and affordable public transport,

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and integrating land use
and transportation planning.

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But not all of these strategies
are visible in every context.

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I will therefore, focus on
the case of Penang, a state

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within Malaysia, to illustrate
how the context affects

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these strategies.

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Why Malaysia?

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The better growth of
the Malaysian economy

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in recent decades has
resulted in the deterioration

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of the environment.

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Malaysia is ranked as
the fourth most polluted

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of 14 Asian countries.

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In particular, air pollution
and degradation of air quality

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is a problem.

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World Health
Organization reports

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show that approximately
1900 Malaysians

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died due to outdoor
air pollution in 2012.

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According to the Malaysian
Ministry of Health,

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diseases respiratory system
are the second greatest reason

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for hospitalization and death.

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Respiratory diseases are
responsible for approximately

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one out of ten hospitalizations,
and one out of five deaths.

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Vehicle emissions are the single
largest cause of air pollution

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in Malaysia, accounting for
82% of total air pollutants.

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Haze from forest
fires further degrades

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air quality in Malaysia.

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Penang is an example of a
rapidly developing state

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in Malaysia, with a
problem of air degradation.

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Private vehicle
ownership in Penang

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is higher than the
national average,

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but they are trying to
do something about it.

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Penang has the third largest
economy of Malaysian states,

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and has a population
of 1.6 million.

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It is on the Northwest coast
of peninsular Malaysia,

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by the Straits of Malacca.

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It is composed of two
parts-- Penang Island, where

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the seats of the
government is, and Seberang

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Perai, the mainland part.

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Penang has a higher number
of registered motor vehicles

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per person than other
Malaysian states.

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There are 2.52 million
registered motor vehicles,

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an average of 1.25
cars per person.

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PROFESSOR FARHAN:
Penang, in the island,

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as well as in the mainland,
have delayed the main spine

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for the public transport.

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So because of that,
more and more people

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go towards private forms of
transport, either motorcycle

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or cars, and that, of course,
adds to the congestion problem.

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And when there's
congestion, and there's

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high volume of cars
with low speed,

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we know that it
affects the pollution.

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WESAM AL MEDHOUN: Like many
places around the world,

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Penang is trying to improve
air quality by taking measures

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to reduce vehicle emissions.

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What has been
Penang done so far?

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Directed traffic law in one or
two lanes, based on intensity

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to reduce congestion
on busy streets.

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Improved traffic
management control

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through adjusting the
timing of traffic signals.

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And by constructing roundabouts
to reduce congestion.

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Providing free shuttle
buses from the mainland

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to the island.

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These buses are meant to
transport of civil servant who

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are working at the island
government compound,

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and executives who are
working at the Bayan Lepas

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industrial area created a
dedicated bike lane for parts

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of Georgetown, the main city
of Penang Island, increased

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enforcement of
emission standards

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inspection during
car registration,

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and changing of car ownership,
and introduced car-free day

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at certain parts of Georgetown.

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These strategies have
reduced emission levels,

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and consequently improve the
air quality in the state.

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The state also plans to reduce
private vehicle ownership

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by providing affordable
and efficient

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public transportation.

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MR. MUSTAQIN: But the
very poor connectivity

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in terms of public transport
because the public transport

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there is now-- many old buses.

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Now we're heading
[INAUDIBLE] and also

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[INAUDIBLE] traffic problem that
will impact our air pollution.

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WESAM AL MEDHOUN: In
2015, the state of Penang

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hired an independent
consultant to develop

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a public transportation
master plan,

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but they face major
challenges which

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are-- transportation decisions
are made at the federal level.

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Even a change in
the bus line running

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through the town
of Georgetown needs

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to be approved by the
federal government.

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This makes it very challenging
for the state government

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to make changes.

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Limited budget for
transportation planning,

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because revenues powers lies
within the federal government,

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the state government has
a very limited budget

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for making improvements to
its transportation network.

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PROFESSOR FARHAN:
So this all adds out

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to non- sustainable practices.

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And I think the
state government this

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trying very hard to solve this.

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And they have come up
with several strategies

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and they introduced a
transport master plan.

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Part of that
transport master plan

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is an extensive rail network.

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Unfortunately they are not
able to secure any funding

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from the federal government
so they have to be creative,

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and perhaps this is
another challenge

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for sustainability, financing.

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And I think Penang is
trying an initiative that

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is self-sustaining
through public partnership

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with the public- private
partnership model.

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WESAM AL MEDHOUN:
Penang authorities

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plan to finance the
transport master

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plan by selling reclaimed land.

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But they have yet to do
an environmental impact

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assessment.

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Therefore, while
public transportation

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is critical to reducing
vehicle emissions,

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reducing negative
environmental impacts

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requires thoughtful finance
and implementation mechanisms.

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To conclude, Penang
decision makers

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might adopt sustainable
transportation policies

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that have been implemented
by five major Asian cities

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like Hong Kong, Tokyo,
Singapore, Seoul, and Shanghai.

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These include promoting
public transportation,

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integrating land use
and transport planning,

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and instituting travel
demand management

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to bring about sustainable
transportation system.

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Adding to that, more stringent
car emissions inspection,

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and expanding the
free-car day can further

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reduce traffic emissions.

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Transport planning and
implementation in Penang

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still faces several
challenges that

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need to be handled wisely in
order to be more sustainable.

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At the same time,
positive element

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of Penang's
implemented strategies

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are a promising example
for less developed cities.

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