*3.1. The Case of Malaysian Smart City Framework*

MSCF is the first top-down document to formulate the direction of smart city development in Malaysia. The document was launched in September 2019 and drafted by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. In MSCF, smart cities are defined as "cities

that use ICT and technological advancement to address urban issues, including to improve quality of life, promote economic growth, develop a sustainable and safe environment and encourage efficient urban management practices" [9]. This definition, in practice, aims to achieve the vision of "quality and smart living" [9].

In terms of planning, the implementation of smart cities nationwide is divided into three phases from 2019 to 2025. These are phase 1 (the foundation stage), from 2019 to 2020 (two years); phase 2 (the development stage), from 2021 to 2022 (two years); and phase 3 (the advanced development and monitoring stage), from 2023 to 2025 (three years). To ensure its effective implementation, understanding, and acceptance among the people must also be investigated, especially for urban residents. Hence, this study focuses on the understanding and acceptance among professionals of MSCF. The study has been developed to identify the appropriateness of the outlined strategies.

As discussed previously, various components/strategies can be found in academic and grey literature under the grouping of each smart city domain, all of which depends on managing problems and challenges in local contexts. The case is the same in Malaysia, where the government had customized the domains, components, and strategies according to the local challenges. Based on the planned domains, 90 questionnaire items were designed (see Appendix A) and face validated by two smart city experts.
