• MIP Youth Wing chairman TPr Zuliana Mat Zawawi said YPLab, introduced about 15 years ago, is a multidisciplinary competition programme aimed at nurturing young professionals.

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 18): The Young Professionals Lab (YPLab) 2025 was launched today with 30 participants, with the theme “Roots of Resilience” to preserve heritage while strengthening urban climate resilience.

Organised by the Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP) Youth Wing in collaboration with Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia, the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), and the Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (ILAM), and supported by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the World Class Sustainable Cities (WCSC) initiative, the month-long programme is being held in Kampung Pasir here.

MIP Youth Wing chairman TPr Zuliana Mat Zawawi said YPLab, introduced about 15 years ago, is a multidisciplinary competition programme aimed at nurturing young professionals.

“For this year, we are focusing on Kampung Pasir with the general theme of preserving the heritage. So, that is why Kampung Pasir is chosen,” she told EdgeProp during the launch event today.

She added that YPLab brings together professionals from different fields to share ideas, learn from one another, and build networks that extend beyond the programme.

“The outcome of the programme is very positive for the participants. I can see when they are in YPLab, how they are interpreting themselves, but when they graduate and enter the industry they become better, more presentable,” she said.

As for the choice of Kampung Pasir this year, Zuliana said: “Our focus is on the river, which is the living heritage, while Kampung Pasir represents the physical heritage with its population, community, and architecture”.

“Participants will focus on the riverside, activating spaces from unusable to usable. I hope the proposals can benefit the community and also be functional for disaster risk management,” she said.

She added that the programme is collaborating with KongsiKL for the Klang River Festival (KRF), which is focused on the opposite side of the river.

“That is why we are choosing Kampung Pasir, as it happens to be on the other side of the KRF focus area this year. It is also gazetted as the Kampung Warisan by DBKL, and it has the components we want to curate for the programme,” she said.

Participants will go through a series of activities throughout the programme.

“These include site visits, workshops, and proposal presentations, designed to encourage innovative and practical solutions.

“We want them to understand the importance of heritage in the context of climate resilience. It’s not just about preserving history, but also about making sure communities are prepared for the future,” she added.

The 2025 theme requires participants to identify heritage elements in Kampung Pasir and propose ways to integrate them into urban resilience planning.

The programme, which runs from Aug 15 to Sept 6, will culminate in a presentation of proposals to a panel of judges, with winners announced at the end of the event.

Does Malaysia have what it takes to become a Blue Zone, marked by health and longevity? Download a copy of EdgeProp’s Blueprint for Wellness to check out townships that are paving the path towards that. 

SHARE