KUALA LUMPUR: Housing development must prioritise affordability, liveability and community well-being rather than treating homes as commercial commodities, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said.
Nga, who is also president of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Assembly, said urban progress should not be measured solely by the number of skyscrapers, but by improvements in community well-being.
He said this required a focus on four key pillars: affordability, liveability, connectivity and access to essential amenities.
“Housing should not merely be treated as a commodity for buying and selling but as a place where every family can build a secure and stable life. We must not only ensure that people can afford to buy a home, but also that they can live with peace of mind, comfort and dignity,” he said.
He was speaking at the World Cities Day 2026 Forum on “Building High Quality Housing for the People” in Fuzhou, China.
Nga said meeting these benchmarks required coordinated action by governments, builders, developers and the wider community.
He said people-centred urban planning should combine housing with public transport, schools, medical centres and recreational spaces to build connected communities.
“Good housing must be supported by the facilities and services people need. High-rise buildings alone cannot create a community without human connection,” he said.
Nga urged municipal authorities and builders to adopt artificial intelligence, green building frameworks and smart construction technologies to improve building quality, energy efficiency and resilience to climate disruptions and natural hazards.
He said urban development should be judged by improvements in people’s quality of life, rather than the number of skyscrapers built.
On regional cooperation, he said the Ipoh Accord, established at the Fourth Asean-China Ministerial Roundtable on Construction and Housing in Perak on Aug 1, underpinned cross-border initiatives in low-carbon design, urban renewal and community environment upgrading.
Nga said he was confident that Malaysia-China and Asean-China partnerships would drive sustainable development for future generations.
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. The homes and communities we build today must serve not only the present generation but also those to come,” he said.