Housing a nation. Can Malaysia cope?
KOUSALYA SELVAM ATHIRA AMINUDDIN
SHAH ALAM - A small unit with 12 residents in two-room low-cost units, bipolar cases, and no money for food.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil says the pandemic has shown "how broken the system" is in the country.
"I have seen some people suffering from bipolar disorder due to the pandemic and the pressure exerted on them, " he said, adding that it has to do with the fast pace life of city life and being cramped into small units.
"For a lot of people, it’s about making ends meet and the challenges to earn RM1,500 or minimum wage, it’s not going to be enough in Kuala Lumpur," he told Sinar Daily.
He said suicide cases were reported to him during Covid-19 lockdowns.
Architects play a big role in terms of shaping the way public think about public housing and low-cost housing.
"There are architects out there that have been adventurous in the materials they use – in the designs while maintaining respect and liveability.
"We have seen it happened time and again, with Kampung Kerinchi, with Sri Pahang and Sungai Baru flats. We need proper regulation, proper law that can help with redevelopment. We need better laws." he added.
Low cost housing does not have to be low quality living, he said.
For instance, when he visits his grandparents Kampung home in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, he said "it is still very dignified and livable.
"But we can’t have that in KL, but if people want to live a dignified life, we need to look at best space designs."
Housing policies
Citing Lembah Pantai as an example, he said prices of land would skyrocket once a developer shows interest to buy a plot of land.
"If the original price of a piece of land is RM40 million, it would go up to RM100 million, if there is a development," he said.
In 2015, Nurul Izzah Anwar who was then the MP of Lembah Pantai had fought against how a piece of land in Haji Abdullah Hukum area was sold to Yayasan Gerak Bakti Kebangsaan (YGBK), and subsequently sold to KL Eco City, he said.
“It is about people who make profits from handling and the transferring the land title from developers who want to develop the land.” Fahmi said.
In the last two years, the prices of affordable homes for poor Malaysians at Residensi Wilayah Keluarga Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur have shot up from below RM200,000 to above RM250,000. He urged Putrajaya to look how tp encourage private developers or government linked companies (GLCs) to build more and proper public homes.
RM300,000 to RM500,000 are not affordable homes, says PSM
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) Youth Secretary Gandipan Nantha Gopalan said Malaysians are finding it difficult to own a property due to skyrocketing housing prices and stagnating wages after the pandemic.
There is a solution only if the government build more affordable houses, implements better policies and takes over the maintenance of public housing projects to relieve the burden of the low-income communities, he said.
"We need to push the government to build more low-cost homes and refine the range of 'affordable' since RM300,000 to RM500,000 are not affordable to many.
Gandipan also urged other political parties to be vocal on housing issues in the country and advocate for better housing solutions.
Despite challenges in providing affordable and dignified housing, Gandipan said the current administration seems to be lagging behind in providing a workable solution on the matter but is rather more focused on staying in power.
"Looking at the politicians now they seem busier in politicking. They are only interested in speaking on how to stay in power rather than discussing the suffering of Malaysian youth and workers,'' he said.
