Private-Public Sector
Collaboration for Housing Needs
of the Urban Poor
Mohd Haizzan Yahaya, Muhamad Fadhil Nurdin and Mohd Taufik Mohammad
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Hery Wibowo Universiti Padjadjaran
Introduction
Home as a Necessity
One of life's basic needs, like food and water, is shelter. The provision of housing and associated services does extend across virtually all facets of social work endeavour, from providing foster care to the neglected, finding homes for persons leaving treatment facilities, helping refugees find their "place" in a new country and on addressing homelessness itself. Social work research related to housing reflects the wide array of interest in the field in finding the best way to meet housing needs while helping client build a new sense of belonging, pride of ownership, and sense of self-sufficiency.
Perhaps nowhere else are both the micro and macro social work approaches to meet basic human needs by addressing both people and their environment better displayed than in the housing services field. Housing or lack thereof reflects the individual's economic environment, and quality housing reflects the level of a community's social development. The provision of housing is a further reflection of society's meeting the needs of its most vulnerable residents.
Social Development
There are numerous clear statements by the Malaysian government calling for a balanced development which will bring about holistic development. However, for a majority of policy drafters and makers, the thrust is mainly focusing on economic growth and returns. There is therefore an urgent need to recapture the balanced approach in social development, especially in Penang. Holding this balance at the level of policy formulation and direct implementation is necessary in making a difference for Penangites (an informal way of referring to people living in Penang). Social development is central to national and community development. The authors believed that each and every community in Penang would love to share the state prosperities and strive for the attainment of a better quality of life. Social development is used in a broad sense to encompass economic, education and social wellbeing, including the available and affordable housing for the urban poor. The orientation is not so much welfare focused but one that advocates for social justice and equal opportunities especially for the urban poor in Penang.
There is an urgent need for the state to strengthen the institutional capacities of agencies and institutions to ensure that the social development agenda is further enhanced for all Penangite. Perhaps, these would include creating new avenues for urban poor to have a say especially in social development and be effectively able to participate in social welfare dialogues, including the opportunity to buy and own an affordable house.
Urban Poverty
Issues of urban poverty have attracted increasing attention among Penangites and academics in the last few years. Studies have been carried out to establish the links between unemployment and urban poverty (Zhu, 1998; Zhang, 1999). Regional variations in urban poverty, the relationship between poverty and family income, employment types and economic sectors have also been investigated. These studies have led to new policy development and some changes in social welfare provision. At the international level, the literature on urban reform and transition has also grown rapidly over the last few years. Published material addresses a wide range of issues, including:
• The economic and industrial changes occurring in cities as part of the country's reemergence on the world stage (Solinger, 1993)
The theme, urban poor and low income poor, is one of the major areas of concern in this chapter. The findings of the two urban poverty conferences and the impact of urban poverty lays a strong claim that urban poverty must be urgently addressed in society. Six key areas have been debated and many innovative policies and programmes have been launched by the Malaysian Federal Government (Jayasooria, 2008). Academicians and civil society leaders have been part of these deliberations.
The first is the National Social Policy. This was formulated as an umbrella policy giving a balance between economic and social development, between infrastructure and human capital development. Second is PINTAS which is a social action plan which provides the framework for integrating the various components of social development in the country. This social action plan was developed by Prof. Dato Dr. Wan Halim and his team. Millions of ringgit had been spent as well as a pilot project was launched at the district level. However, the sad reality is that there is not even a single reference to PINTAS in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP). It was a major highlight in the 8MP and even in the Mid Term Review of the plan.
Third is the Social Referral Centre (Pusat Rujukan Sosial). The original intention was for these centres to be located in 'high risk neighbourhoods'.
Fourth is the Social Impact Assessment (SI A). Field research was undertaken and foreign consultants recruited to provide input and framework. However while the reports were being done and the policy formulated, this dimension was not given much emphasis in the implementation.
Fifth are the professional development of social workers and the recognition of social work as a profession. Even teachers and nurses are certified; but unfortunately, currently any one can be a social worker or can even use this term. While anyone can be a volunteer there are basic competencies needed in social work practice. Only trained social workers are best equipped to handle complex social situations.
Finally, the sixth aspect is the National Social Institute and its role in not only undertaking research but also to train social workers with the required basic competencies. The institute must provide the content for professional development.
Housing the Urban Poor
Housing and living conditions are important indicators of household poverty. Housing provision in Penang looks like it had been dominated by the private sector. Along with job security, housing is the next most important element in the welfare system. Over time housing conditions were getting poorer due to insufficient investment. However, there have been important changes to the urban housing provision system since the urban economic reform. Commercial property developers emerged as the main housing providers. Many urban families now live in purpose-built flats, which are often small and congested compared to the size of the family.
The authors suggest that some of the immediate strategies in addressing the issue of affordable housing for the urban poor may include the following:
Policies and Social Support
For a betterment of arrangement in coping with the issues of housing for the urban poor in Penang, the authors believed that policies and more social support programs need to be strengthened as soon as possible. It is expected that this will perhaps minimize the burden and functions of state government, which can focus more to production management related efforts than service provision. With the introduction of the arrangement, welfare provision by work units will reduce substantially in order to improve production of urban poor housing effectively and efficiently.
Social Housing Policy
On the other hand, new social support policies such as social housing policy should be introduced to fill some of the gaps between the old and the new policies. These can include policies aimed at creating more job opportunities to reduce urban unemployment, and several social security systems established to protect the weak and unemployed in the cities.
Furthermore, social housing policy can also make radical difference. Unlocking state lands for affordable housing are critical to reduce the price of houses for the urban poor, who are increasingly being driven out of the city environment. Beyond the supply of houses, government enforcement of existing laws against house profiteering would be a valuable start and a long-term home mortgage financing for the urban poor, another breakthrough effort.
Higher Basic Allowance
Social assistance benefits may incorporate a higher basic allowance that should vary by household size and composition as well as considering the high cost of living in in Penang, which will indirectly add the shelter component. A higher basic allowance is supposed to be sufficient to cover the cost of food clothing and other basic living costs. The shelter component is supposed to reflect the market rent of units suitable for the size and composition of the households. In reality, however, the current basic allowance plus the shelter component leaves Penangites in poverty and with too few housing ringgit left to afford a decent housing. Often households on social assistance have to take money from their current basic allowance to pay the rent, raising their shelter-to-income ratio to 50 percent or more and leaving them with too little money to buy food (Carter & Polevychok, 2004).
Social Assistance Program
The combination of compromises in the social assistance program and cuts to social housing in recent years has undoubtedly played a role in the growth in the homeless population and the serious housing circumstances (Chau et. al, 2001). The social assistance program should complement the role of publicly sponsored housing programs by providing immediate housing relief for those urban poor. Investing
The Future and Struggle of Urban Poor
Historical and inherited problems such as the disabled people, the pursuit off full employment in urban areas and overstaffing in the public sector, were the main causes for urban poverty. However, these historical problems did not result in serious poverty under the well planned economic system. The number of poor people inherited from the previous period was also relatively small.
In addition, the struggle of the urban poor communities in Malaysia for housing and land rights is closely related to the development and history of the country. After the British colonial period, Malaysia's priority was to develop its economy by focusing on the manufacturing and export industry in urban areas. This resulted in the rural population migrating to the cities in search of opportunities and to fill the workforce demand. With hard work and their limited resources they would open up nearby areas (wilderness) and build houses. With more people migrating, subsequently, this would further encourage development the area. This new group of population later became to be known as urban pioneers.
Reform and the marketization of the urban social welfare and economy, particularly the reduction of universal benefits and rising unemployment, are new causes of increasing incidents of urban poverty. Adult unemployment, laid-off workers and poverty among pensioners were all related to the process marketization and the privatization of the previously state-owned public enterprises. There is perhaps a possible correlation between factors determining future urban developments and the prospect of a higher incidence of urban poverty in the new urban centres.
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