Abstract:

The increasing number of landslides in the most urban and densely populated Penang Island in Malaysia, has continuously been a cause for concern of hillside development governance. The island comprises beaches, mangroves swamps, hilly granitic weathered bedrock and lush rainforest jungles. This study uses directed content analysis of secondary data to examine good governance for sustainable hillside development, urban landslides and their socioeconomic impacts. Findings show that Penang has a comprehensive and interconnected governance framework for sustainable hillside development. However, differences in the level of compliance and commitment to the framework by governance stakeholders have resulted in different types of policy failure. The exact socioeconomic costs of landslides borne by affected stakeholders also cannot be determined. Recommendations include addressing causes of policy failure and strengthening stakeholders’ commitment to the principles of good governance for sustainable hillside development.