Today, Malaysia is in the center of the most dynamic economy in the world–Chindia. With over 3 billion people and a growing middle class, Chindia is wrestling with reconciling the twin objectives of raising average incomes while protecting and restoring the environment. Penang itself is a bustling center of international high technology companies and high rises alongside the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Georgetown (where Jimmy Choo got his start!).
Through First Stop Portland, I was invited by the World Bank to join a forum on Greening Urban Growth in Penang, Malaysia. Among the 50 or so participants were elected leaders from Korea, Vietnam, China, India, Malaysia and the Philippines along with top World Bank economists as well as planners from as far away as Spain and as close as Singapore. Such a diverse group reflected the global economy as well as the long history of Malaysia in world trade with its own population mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Europeans…Read More »