Smart Cities Asia 2025

Smart, Sustainable, and Strong: Shaping Climate-Ready Cities of Tomorrow

Overview

A decade ago, we aimed to create a platform where industry experts, policymakers, and urban innovators could connect, share knowledge, and inspire public-private partnerships. Now, the Smart Cities Asia conference is crucial for shaping the future of cities in Malaysia and the region. The 11th Smart Cities Asia 2025 will explore ‘Future Metropolis: Towards a Connected, Sustainable and Equitable Urbanity’, driven by ‘Connect. Sustain. Thrive.’ This year, we focus on implementing Smart City strategies across Policy, Program, and Project delivery, fostering collaboration and building a year-round platform for impactful knowledge exchange.

Registration

08.00 AM - 09.30 AM

Registration of 11th Annual Conference Smart Cities Asia 2025

Panel Discussion

09.30 AM - 10.15 AM

Panel Discussion: Smart City Climate Intelligence – Predictive Tech for Resilience and Regeneration

  • Deploying AI-driven climate intelligence tools to predict and mitigate risks, increasing cities’ resilience to environmental disruption.
  • Integrating climate foresight models into urban planning strategies, aligning long-term infrastructure development with sustainability goals.

Moderator

Wan Nadia Wan Elias

Manager, Strategy and Analytics, Think City, Malaysia

Panelist

Mitch Gelber

Chief Executive Ocer, Malaysia Green Building Council, Malaysia

Mohamed Shajahan Mohamed Iqbal

Chief Technology Ocer, Three-Opp, Malaysia

Ts. Mohd Hafizam Mustaffa

Chief Executive Officer, Melaka Green Technology Corporation, Malaysia

Opening Remarks

10.15 AM - 10.30 AM

Opening Remarks

Speaker

Selva Nagappan

Organising Chairman, 11th Annual Conference Smart Cities Asia 2025 & Managing Director, Knowledge Group of Companies

Keynote Address

10.30 AM - 11.00 AM

Malaysia and the ASEAN Smart City Action Plan – Building Inclusive, Sustainable Cities Together

  • Showcasing Malaysia’s efforts in aligning national smart city initiatives with the ASEAN Action Plan to promote sustainable development, innovation, and digital infrastructure
  • Emphasizing cross-norder collaboration to ensure smart cities growth in inclusive, accessible, and beneficial to all communities across the region.

Speaker

Dr. Non Arkaraprasertku

Senior Expert in Smart City Promotion, Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), Thailand

Break

11.00 AM - 11.30 AM

Morning Refreshments

Panel Discussion

11.30 AM - 12.15 PM

Panel Discussion: VSP as a Smart Crime Prevention Tool – Empowering Citizens for Safer Cities

  • Discuss strategies to promote VSP usage among citizens and build trust in digital crime-reporting tools
  • How VSP bridges the gap between law enforcement and the public to enable faster response and smarter urban safety

Moderator

Michael Motet Hansen

Partner, Ref.Team, Singapore

Panelist

Ir. Dr. Karl Ng

Vice President, Digital Health and Digital Cities, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysia

Ts. Nur Arina Ramlee

Chief Technology Officer, Cybersolution Technologies, Malaysia

Presentation

12.15 PM - 12.45 PM

Governing the Algorithm – Trustworthy AI in Smart Public Sector Transformation

  • Building ethical AI governance policies that ensure fair deployment, empowering citizens and increasing trust in smartpublic services.
  •  Implementing transparent algorithm frameworks that prioritize comprehensibility, participatory input and accountability in urban decision-making processes. 

Speaker

Avik Sarkar

Visiting Faculty, Indian School of Business, India

Break

12.45 AM - 02.00 PM

Networking Luncheon and Tour to the Exhibition Space

Panel Discussion

02.00 PM - 02.45 PM

Panel Discussion: From Jammed Roads to Seamless Rides – Solving the Public Transport Paradox for Smarter, Greener Cities

  • Addressing how unreliable schedules, poor service quality, and lack of integration drive commuters back to private vehicles
  • Exploring policy, investment and design strategies to make public transport the first choice for sustainable city mobility

Moderator

Datuk Shahrol Halmi

President, Malaysian Electric Vehicle Owners Club, Malaysia

Panelist

David Lantz

Director of Driving the Shift, Scania Southeast Asia, Malaysia

Ramachandran Muniandy

Chief Executive Ocer and Co-Founder, Asia Mobiliti, Malaysia

Panel Discussion

02.45 PM - 03.30 PM

Panel Discussion: AI Governance for Cities – Building Trust, Transparency, and Accountability in a Data-Driven Era

  • Implement urban AI policies to ensure ethical, transparent, and accountable use of AI in municipal services
  • Establish public oversight mechanisms such as algorithmic audits and citizen review boards to build trust in data-driven governance

Moderator

Mohamed Shajahan Mohamed Iqbal

Chief Technology Ocer, Three-Opp, Malaysia

Panelist

Laila Al Hadharami

Managing Director and Smart Sustainable Cities Advisor, Communities Connect Cities (C3), Oman

Michael Motet Hansen

Partner, Ref.Team, Singapore

Murali Ram

Lead, Cities and Advisory, Arup, Malaysia

Md. Fauzan Elham

General Manager Smart City Development Sector, Selangor Industrial Corporation, Malaysia

Presentation

03.30 PM - 04.00 PM

The Decentralized Shi: Building Smarter Cities with Blockchain and Mesh Networks

  • Empowering underserved and climate-vulnerable areas through decentralized water, energy, and data systems using blockchain and mesh networks
  • Reducing reliance on centralized infrastucture by enabling community-driven autonomy, transparency and resilience in urban service delivery

Speaker

Ivan Chin

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, GOLOG, Malaysia

Fireside Chat

04.00 PM - 04.30 PM

Fireside Chat: EVs – Sustainable Future or Overcharged Hype?

  • Discuss the full lifecycle impact of EV’s from rare earth mining to battery disposal and wheter they genuinely reduce carbon footprints
  • Exploring challenge whether current EV adoption is driven by sustainablity goals or industry trends and if cities are truly ready with the right infrastructure.

Moderator

Ivan Chin

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, GOLOG, Malaysia

Panelist

Datuk Shahrol Halmi

President, Malaysian Electric Vehicle Owners Club, Malaysia

Ir. Mohd Razif Abd Halim

Managing Director, TNBX, Malaysia

End

04.30 PM - 05.00 PM

Evening refreshment and End of Day One Smart Cities Asia 2025

Registration

08.00 AM - 09.30 AM

Registration of 11th Annual Conference and Exhibition Smart Cities Asia 2025

Panel Discussion

09.30 AM - 10.15 AM

Future-Proof Smart Citizens – Digital Literacy, Inclusion and Civic Tech for All

  • Launching inclusive civic technology platforms that empower digitally underserved communities through accessible tools, education, and participatory governance features.
  • Expanding smart education and identity systems to enhance digital literacy, fostering equal engagement in urban innovation ecosystems.

Moderator

Dr. Michele Sagan

Director, Workforce Transformation, PwC, Malaysia

Panelists

Ts. Dr. Mohd Muzzammil Ismail

Vice President, Head of Sustainable Development and Technologies, MIGHT, Malaysia

Budiman Bujang

Deputy Chief Digital Officer, Johor Corporation (JCorp), Malaysia

Loo Chuan Boon

Chief Operating Officer, Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec), Malaysia

Panel Discussion

10.15 AM - 11.00 AM

Strengthening ASEAN’s Digital Infrastructure – Enabling Trusted IoT with 5G and Edge Computing

  • Tackle key challenges in accelerating 5G rollout, improving cross-border connectivity, and building edge-ready infrastructure for real-time applications.
  • Explore how trusted IoT ecosystems can be developed through secure architectures, localized data processing, and regionally aligned regulatory frameworks.

Moderator

Pathma

Honorary Treasurer, Malaysia IoT Association, Malaysia

Panelists

Ts. Ahmad Shahie Sobry

Head of Business Solution Delivery and Technology Strategy, Digital Nasional Berhad, Malaysia

Marshidah Mansor

Chief Marketing Officer, MSA Resources, Malaysia

Break

11.00 AM - 11.30 AM

Morning Refreshment

Presentation

11.30 AM - 12.00 PM

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act: Turning Legal Mandates into Smarter, Efficient Cities

  • Translating legislation into action on how the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Act shapes policies, incentives, and compliance measures for city-wide energy efficiency.
  • Leveraging the Act to integrate smarter energy use across buildings, transport, and public infrastructure.

Speaker

Norazrin Rupadi

Deputy Director of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Department, Energy Commission, Malaysia

Panel Discussion

12.00 PM - 12.45 PM

Billion-Ringgit Leak – Smart City Strategies to Neutralize the Non-Revenue Water Crisis

  • Deploying smart water technologies (e.g. IoT sensors, digital meters, AI analytics) to detect, monitor, and reduce water loss in real time.
  • Strengthening policy, governance, and utility collaboration to drive accountability, financing, and scalable NRW reduction in urban systems.

Moderator

Mohamad Hairi Basri

President, Malaysian Water Association (MWA), Malaysia

Panelists

Khairul Effendy Tusam

Chief Operating Officer, Ranhill SAJ, Malaysia

Jasmine Voo

Executive Director, Climate Asia, Malaysia

Break

12.45 PM - 02.00 PM

Networking Luncheon

Presentation

02.00 PM - 02.30 PM

Smart Cities Begin with Smart Communities: Cultivating a First-Class Mindset for an Intelligent Society

  • Explore how education, civic engagement, and digital literacy empower communities to actively participate in smart city transformation.
  • Discuss the role of values, discipline, and public behavior in building high-functioning, intelligent urban ecosystems.

Speaker

Kristel R. Villanueva-Libunao

Executive Director, SmartCT, Philippines

Presentation

02.30 PM - 03.00 PM

Energy Renaissance: Supercharged Cities with Net-Zero Tech

  • Powering next-generation urban energy with integrated clean energy systems and renewable innovations to achieve carbon-neutral operations.
  • Building resilient and future-ready living through infrastructure, mobility, and services that deliver efficiency, climate resilience, and seamless citizen engagement in a net-zero world.

Speaker

Professor Ts. Dr. Shahrina Md Nordin

Fellow for Energy Institute and Director Smart and Sustainable Living Institute, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia

Panel Discussion

03.00 PM - 03.45 PM

Securing Smart Cities – Cybersecurity in the Hyperconnected Digital Ecosystem

  • Explore how to secure critical smart city infrastructure from IoT sensors to public Wi-Fi against growing cyber threats.
  • Discuss strategies for safeguarding citizen data, enforcing cybersecurity standards, and maintaining public trust in hyperconnected environments.

Moderator

Pathma

Honorary Treasurer, Malaysia IoT Association, Malaysia

Panelists

Jaco Benadie

Partner, Cybersecurity and OT Leader, Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd, Malaysia

Kristel R. Villanueva-Libunao

Executive Director, SmartCT, Philippines

In Conversation

03.45 PM - 04.15 PM

Smart Government in Action – GovTech, Real-Time Data and Inclusive City Planning

  • Enabling real-time data exchange to break down agency data silos and support evidencedriven urban planning and operational decision-making.
  • Empowering citizen reporting and transparency via tools that leverages AI and messaging apps to transform public feedback into actionable urban governance data.

Moderator

Wendy Leong

Committee Member, Malaysia Smart City Alliance Association (MSCA), Malaysia

Panelists

Juan Intan Kanggrawan

Advisor and Head of Data and Digital Products, Smart Cities and GovTech, Indonesia

End

04.15 PM - 05.00 PM

Evening Refreshment and End of Smart Cities Asia 2025