Assessment of awareness on the programmes implemented under local agenda 21 (LA21) among the public and resident association committee members : a case study of Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Abstract

One of the initiatives that have been taken by the government of Malaysia in realizing the idea of sustainable development is through the implementation of Local Agenda 21 (LA21). In early 2000, the government of Selangor has started the programme with two pilot projects; Shah Alam City Council and Kuala Selangor District Council. However, up until now, it was found that the awareness and involvement levels of the community in LA21 programmes were still low. This research therefore focuses on the awareness level of public and resident association committee members towards the programmes implemented under LA21 and Shah Alam has been chosen for the case study. This research analysed the current level of awareness on LA21, the factors influencing the participation in LA21 programmes as well as the hindrances in the implementation of LA21 programmes in Shah Alam. Questionnaire distribution and interviews with the officers in Shah Alam City Council and the council members have been conducted for the purpose of data collection. The data collected were further analyzed by conducting cross-tabulation, chi-square and also spearman test. It was found that the awareness level towards LA21 among the stakeholders in Shah Alam was low despite the fact that the city has been rewarded with several achievements pertaining to sustainable development. Besides that, the survey results revealed that there is a significant relationship between the awareness level of respondents towards LA21 and their involvement in the programme. Some of the barriers which hindered the implementation of LA21 programme include lack of available information about LA21, financial and staffing constraints and lack of commitment by the local authority staffs in implementing LA21 have been identified. Therefore, several suggestions and recommendations were formulated to counter these barriers.