KUCHING – The Smart City and Child Friendly City Initiative Benchmarking Visit to the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) was held on 4 February 2026, which involved members of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Committee from the Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) and heads of departments from MPKS.
The trip aimed to encourage collaboration and share learnings between the two councils in areas of sustainable city development and creating inclusive, human-centric cities.
MPKS intended to learn from the successful practices of MBKS and benchmark its initiatives in order that they could apply some of the relevant strategies in their own local organisational model.
The session’s talks revolved around the models and practices in using smart city technologies, livening cities for children and integrating local policies with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Both councils stressed the need to incorporate digital innovation into community-based urban planning that guarantees cities are socially active, safe and sustainable.
The benchmarking exercise also showcased efforts by MBKS to develop Kuching South into a modern and resilient city. These are projects related to the digitalisation of public services, environmental sustainability and urban planning with a theme on inclusivity.
They further thanked MBKS for having allowed them to learn from its experience, adding that the reciprocal arrangements would be key in strengthening municipal leaderships at all levels of Sarawak.
The visit emphasised the mutual commitment of both the councils in supporting smart city models with a child and family focus on urban development.
The partnership is hoped to lead to more joint programmes and knowledge-sharing initiatives that would further enhance Sarawak’s status as a forerunner in the management of sustainable, inclusive cities.
