BANGI, Aug 10 (Bernama) -- Good policies must move beyond isolated interventions towards creating connected environments that address the realities of people’s lives, said Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said government policies should take into account the interconnected challenges faced by individuals, families and communities instead of treating each issue as a separate policy matter.
“Good policy must, therefore, move from isolated interventions towards connected environments, and from institutional impact to the realities of human lives,” he said in his keynote address at the Human Ecology International Conference II 2026 (HEIC II 2026) here today.
Amirudin said people did not experience healthcare, childcare, transport, employment and cost of living as separate policy areas, but as interconnected aspects of everyday life.
He said families today faced structural pressures including rising costs, long commutes, caregiving demands, changing work patterns, housing constraints and rapid technological change.
“The crucial question for government is, therefore, not only whether a family is coping, but whether the surrounding environment enables it to thrive,” he said.
Amirudin said universities should also be partners throughout the policy cycle, from defining problems and designing interventions to evaluating what actually worked.
Meanwhile, the menteri besar also witnessed the exchange of the Memorandum of Understanding between UPM and University of the Philippines Los Baños, followed by the announcement of the initiative to establish the ASEAN Human Ecology Consortium.
The initiative is intended to provide a regional platform for joint research, student and faculty mobility, publications, policy dialogue, academic collaboration, and community engagement among Human Ecology institutions across ASEAN.
Held under the theme "Sustaining Human Well-being", HEIC II 2026 brings together academics, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, institutional leaders, students and community representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries to examine contemporary challenges affecting human well-being.
“Good policy must, therefore, move from isolated interventions towards connected environments, and from institutional impact to the realities of human lives,” he said in his keynote address at the Human Ecology International Conference II 2026 (HEIC II 2026) here today.
Amirudin said people did not experience healthcare, childcare, transport, employment and cost of living as separate policy areas, but as interconnected aspects of everyday life.
He said families today faced structural pressures including rising costs, long commutes, caregiving demands, changing work patterns, housing constraints and rapid technological change.
“The crucial question for government is, therefore, not only whether a family is coping, but whether the surrounding environment enables it to thrive,” he said.
Amirudin said universities should also be partners throughout the policy cycle, from defining problems and designing interventions to evaluating what actually worked.
Meanwhile, the menteri besar also witnessed the exchange of the Memorandum of Understanding between UPM and University of the Philippines Los Baños, followed by the announcement of the initiative to establish the ASEAN Human Ecology Consortium.
The initiative is intended to provide a regional platform for joint research, student and faculty mobility, publications, policy dialogue, academic collaboration, and community engagement among Human Ecology institutions across ASEAN.
Held under the theme "Sustaining Human Well-being", HEIC II 2026 brings together academics, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, institutional leaders, students and community representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries to examine contemporary challenges affecting human well-being.