Towards an uniquely Malaysian urban landscape through an emphasis on the planting of indigenous trees

Abstract

Over the recent years, with the growing national awareness of environmental issues such as air pollution, there are now concerted efforts being made in the 'greening' of the Malaysian urban environment through stepped-up tree planting programmes in Kuala Lumpur as well as in other towns. Yet it is quite obvious that in their plantings town councils and landscape consultants are drawing from only a very limited number of tree species, many of which are not even indigenous to this country. This does appear rather paradoxical especially when there are over 8000 known species of flowering plants (2000 of which are trees) in our country. An attempt is therefore made to unravel why this situation has come about and at the same time to bring about an appreciation of the fact that there are many tree species from our natural forests that could be successfully introduced for urban planting. To illustrate this, some potential indigenous species are suggested. The various principles in the selection of these species are discussed. Concerted efforts to plant indigenous species could well lead to a time when the Malaysian urban landscape will be unique and one that we can be proud to say is our very own.