1 Citation: Lim, S., Abdul Malek, J., Hussain, M. Y., & Tahir, Z. (2019). Smart Urbanism in the SDGs Era: Should Smart Cities Comply with the Politics of Capitalism, Social Democracy, or Ecological Democracy? Proceedings of the 2 nd International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals, 30-31 July, Penang. Universiti Sains Malaysia Smart Urbanism in the SDGs Era: Should Smart Cities Comply with the Politics of Capitalism, Social Democracy, or Ecological Democracy? Sengboon Lim a limsengboonn@gmail.com Jalaluddin Abdul Malek b jbam@ukm.edu.my Mohd Yusof Hussain c hmyusoff@ukm.edu.my Zurinah Tahir d zurinahtahir@ukm.edu.my abcd School of Social, Development and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to examine which political paths, between capitalism, social democracy or ecological democracy, should the smart urbanism movement follow in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Design/methodology/approach – This study applied a document analysis design on the stakeholders‘ literature such as the news media (for citizens); practitioners‘ publications on the topic of smart cities and SDGs (for businesses, organisations or governments); and academic research (for research organisations); and explored empirical examples related to smart urbanism and SDGs in Malaysia. Findings – This study found that to achieve SDGs under current capitalism, hegemonies is a significant challenge. However, it is possible with the trust given by the government in the form of participatory politics. SDGs also need to be overhauled and rewritten under ecological democracy – based on the principles of the ‗commons‘. Practical Implications – The implication of the findings of the study include creating a call for support for emerging ecological democracy that is particularly compatible with SDGs as well as embedded in the natural environment, social and economic developments. Originality – This paper has contributed to the understanding of the relationship between smart urbanism and SDGs, ideologies available for countries leaders to consider, and hypotheses for future research. Keywords: Malaysia, Sustainable Development Goals, Smart City, Liberal Democracy, Participatory Politics, Green Politics