Posts Tagged ‘Poverty’

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awareness program for urban poor

July 18th, 2011
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With nearly 70% of Malaysians living in urban areas, the focus should be also given to urban poor.  Not only in low-cost apartment areas,  but also in other housing areas and  squatter areas.

A good number of urban poor are not aware of the government’s welfare aids which they are eligible for.

To correct this, Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk M. Saravanan yesterday held a fair to launch a “clinic” at the Desa Tun Razak flats to collect data on socio-economic problems faced by the city’s low-cost flat dwellers. The subsequent clinics will be held at all 25 low-cost flats in the cty.

K. Ramakrishnan, a labourer who earns RM700 a month and has a son attending Primary One, said he was not aware the government had a school uniform aid for the poor.

“I just heard Datuk Saravanan mention in his speech that there is such a scheme,” said Ramakrishnan.

“It would ease my burden if I received help to buy school uniforms and books for my son. But I was not aware of this as nobody informed me.”

Ramli Ismail, a vegetable seller, said the government should make this information more widely known.

“The clinic is a good effort and an eye-opener. There were many things I was not aware of, so there should be more of these programmes,” said the 48-year-old.

Mohd Zakaria Yusof, 42, said programmes like this should be organised more often.

“Don’t make it a ‘once in a blue moon’ thing. Some of us are uneducated and not sure where to go to seek help, so we appreciate this sort of effort from the government,” said Zakaria.

Saravanan said: “We would like to hold these clinics every Sunday, although this may be difficult because Ramadan is approaching. We want to complete these clinics in three months so that by the end of the year, we would have collected the data we want.”

Saravanan said Barisan Nasional lost a lot of votes at low-cost housing areas in the March 2008 general election because the government did not do much to address the plight of the poor there.

“That’s why I told the Prime Minister that we need a detailed study on the issues faced by those residing in low-cost flats.”

He also admitted that government agencies involved in giving aid to the poor should be more pro-active in reaching out.

“Many people are not aware of the various aids we have for the poor. For example, the hardcore poor do not know they don’t have to pay their flat’s rent. They also don’t know there are entrepreneurship programmes where we give training and loans to set up small businesses.”

Residents of the Desa Tun Razak flats yesterday flocked the many booths set up at the clinic yesterday.

Among the agencies present were the Welfare department, and KL City Hall’s housing department, poverty eradication department and health department.

http://mmail.com.my/content/78065-urban-poor-learn-about-eligibility-aid

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48 inch TV and 3 door fridge at PPR flat but don’t pay rent

July 13th, 2011
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“They told me when they first moved into their respective units, they were told by some politicians in the area that they were there for free.”

Either politicians become the scapegoats or politicians simply told stuff that they can’t guarantee. Usually happens when people are relocated from areas being redeveloped. They may be from a non-rent paying house, and can’t comprehend that they are being displaced and have to pay rent on top of that.

They can invest in entertainment and other necessities, but not able to pay rent because its not a priority and there’s always a way around later. Can get politicians to appeal, or get some fund from government to settle the arrears.


PPR Desa RejangHIGH LEAVING: PPR Desa Rejang flats where most occupants choose to stay for free

KUALA LUMPUR: A majority of residents living in the People’s Housing Project (PPR) homes in Kuala Lumpur, who fail to pay rental, are not poor. Instead, they are just indifferent and plain stubborn.

This was revealed to The Malay Mail by City Hall’s housing management director, Sukiman Surahman.

Sukiman said out of the 52,914 families renting PPR units, 41,029 of them were defaulters and out of the total number of defaulters, only 20 per cent can be categorised as hardcore poor.

PPR door bills

“The other 80 per cent can afford the rent, but instead they are just plain stubborn. They know there is a monthly rent to be paid but they just can’t be bothered,” he said.

Sukiman got a shock when he recently visited PPR Kampung Muhibbah in Puchong and found many residents lived in comfort and yet failed to pay their monthly dues to City Hall.

“There’s nothing free in this world. The residents have to change their mindsets and start paying rent accordingly. If they face problems in paying their rent, they could always talk to us and we could work out an appropriate payment plan for them.”

City Hall, he said, identified 2000 PPR units that were in the hands of hardcore poor as of April this year.

“The people who live in these units are usually those unemployed, have children with little furniture and with no financial assistance from any source.”

“We have also identified other families in the poor category. These families receive some form of financial help,” he said.

“As of April, we identified 1,600 PPR units with people who receive financial assistance from Baitumal as well as 600 unit occupants who receive financial assistance from the Social Welfare Department,” he said.

Sukiman said when encountering such families, City Hall usually adviced them on their next course of action.

“When I was doing my rounds at PPR Taman Mulia, I encountered a family of ten living in a unit. Both parents were jobless. Their eight young non-school going children stayed at home.

“This family owes City Hall RM8,000 in rent. We referred them to several bodies. Yayasan Wilayah sponsors their children to school, the Social Welfare Department gave them some form of monetary aid to carry on with their lives. Baitumal helped them with their rent,” he said.

Sukiman said plans are afoot to group the 2000 units of hardcore poor families for transfer into one separate PPR area.

“This will make it easier for the government to monitor them. Probably, we can get companies to help them as part of their corporate social responsibility programme,” he said.

48′ flat screen TVs … but they don’t pay rent

CITY HALL’s housing management director, Sukiman Surahman was taken aback when he visited PPR Kampung Muhibbah in Puchong.

“I visited a family who owes City Hall about RM17,000 in rent after not paying for more than 10 years.

I felt something amiss upon entering the hall of the house which contained a 48-inch flat screen television.

“Then upon entering a room, I saw another 36-inch flat screen television set. The house also had a three-door refrigerator.

The surprises did not end there.

“I went to another unit which owes us RM11,000 in rent. Can you imagine that?”

Sukiman said when he asked the families why they failed to pay their dues for so long, they told him they are not aware of such payments.

“They told me when they first moved into their respective units, they were told by some politicians in the area that they were there for free.

On explaining to them that there was no such thing as ‘free’ the families have agreed to pay their dues.

source: http://mmail.com.my/content/77703-ppr-rent-issue-freeloaders

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Financial aid for poor Tamil school students in KL

July 4th, 2011
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I guess have to move fast, because now only want to do survey. Its not as if this problem just cropped up!

Sometimes, the parent from low income category won’t bother paying school fees because they know it would be covered under KWAM or other government schemes. Worse case, the teachers or HM will get some NGO or businessmen to cover the fees.

FINANCIAL aid will be given to poor Tamil schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur after a survey is conducted by the Education Ministry, said Deputy Urban Development and Wellbeing Minister Datuk M. Saravanan.

Saravanan said nearly a quarter of the Tamil schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur were under performing because they come from poor homes.

He said from his meetings with chairmen of parent-teacher associations of Tamil Schools he had gathered that there were still many Indian families living in abject poverty.

“There are families which do not have even television sets. I can understand if people cannot afford Astro services. But not having a television set is something unheard of in our country,” he said at the launching of the SRJ (Tamil) Segambut annual sports event recently.

The MIC vice-president said there were a large number of pupils who could not afford to pay school fees.

“It is just RM24 per year and if their parents cannot afford even that then they must be given help,” Saravanan said, adding the well being of residents in the city was his ministry’s responsibility.

“We have the allocation but we want to have statistics to show their social economic standing,” he said.

He added that survey forms had been distributed to the chairmen of these PTAs and it would be cross-checked with another survey to be conducted by the Education Department.

Saravanan said the Education Ministry had been notified to conduct a similar survey.

“Only then we will know the financial situation of these poor families and the ministry will start making arrangements for them to receive allocations.

“My ministry has the allocation to eradicate poverty in the city and I will ensure the funds are channelled to hard-core poor families so that their children can do better at school,” he added.

A similar survey conducted last year by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) found that 42% of Tamil schools pupils in the country cannot read and write because they come poor homes.

About 10,000 Tamil school pupils attending Year One are illiterate because they can not afford to attend kindergarten.

source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/6/29/central/8983851&sec=central

 

 

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low cost flat developer charges extra

June 22nd, 2011
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This is indeed surprising! As mentioned in the article, its low cost flats, and yet the developer want to charge for parking bays and also collect parking fees? As we all know, its very easy to buy a car, be it new one or from secondary market. In many cases, car purchase is necessitated due to unacceptable levels of public transport, location of the flats, and the job nature of the residents. However, to maintain a car is another story. You have to factor in fuel cost, parking cost, annual fees (road tax, license, insurance), car servicing cost, toll cost, and any parts replacement due to wear and tear.

Maybe because we can see many luxury or higher end cars at low cost apartments, we can say that the residents are not from low income group?

If this move is not nipped in the bud, then I’m afraid it will be used as a precedent by other developers impose more cost and fess to residents living in low cost apartments. This will defeat the purpose of providing affordable homes since the “extra” cost will be burdensome.

Maybe this is one way for developers to “reclaim” money from providing temporary accommodation or rental for the displaced people earlier.

More seriously, CFs were issued, but got complaints that no water supply and incomplete sewerage system??? What is this la?

Now the MBPJ need to act fast and clarify the issues before it becomes more serious.

 

RESIDENTS of Impian Seri Setia low-cost flats in Sungai Way, Petaling Jaya, are unhappy with the terms and services provided by the developer.

They are complaining that the flats are not fit for occupation, lacking in parking space and additional charges imposed that were not stated in their sales and purchase agreement.

Selangor MCA Public Complaints Bureau (BPA) deputy chairman Kelvin Chong, who was speaking on behalf of the residents, said the keys had been handed over to the residents over the past two weeks.

“However, the flats are not fit for occupation despite the issuance of Certificate of Fitness (CF), as there is no water supply and the sewerage system is not completed.

“There is also insufficient parking space. Under the council’s Planning Approval, it was stated that there would be one parking bay for every two flat units.”

As there are 476 units, Chong there should be 238 parking bays as well as an additional 10% bays for visitors, but the developer has only built 201 bays.

Bureau legal adviser Datuk C.K. Lim questioned the developer’s move to sell parking space at RM5,500 per bay, when they are not allowed to do so for low-cost flats.

“The developer will be imposing monthly collection charges. All these matters will lead to haphazard parking and inconvenience, which is a common problem in high-rise buildings,” he said.

Fellow bureau legal adviser KC Wan said the residents had to pay a monthly service charge of between RM66 and RM77 upon completion of their flats.

“However, special consideration should be given to them as these are housing for low-wage earners and the charges are too high,” he said.

Resident Oh Loke Hooi said only half their renovation deposit had been refunded, and that the flats’ management was forcing the residents to only engage the developer’s contractors for renovation work.

“The developer collected a RM500 deposit from each flat owner, but only refunded RM250 after carrying out the renovations, when we should have been refunded in full,” said the 48-year-old.

According to the residents, the land that Impian Seri Setia sits on was formerly a TOL (Temporary Occupation Land) land where they as squatters stayed.

They had to make way for a development project that included apartments and commercial units.

The affected 148 squatters were each given a concession of RM7,000 discount to buy a flat priced at RM42,000.

In the meantime, each squatter was given a RM124 monthly compensation until their flats were completed.

Chong said the bureau had sent a memorandum to Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman urging the Petaling Jaya City Council to clarify the matter with the residents, but the council had yet to respond.

“We also urge the developer to have a meeting with the MBPJ and the residents to sort out the issue,” he said, adding that the developer claimed to have fulfilled the contract.

The bureau will also be following up on the matter with the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

“We want to check on the quantum of charges imposed on the residents and why they are being charged maintenance fees despite the flats not being fit for occupation, and whether the developer is allowed to absorb the deposit without a valid reason,” said Wan.

“The developer cannot sell parking bays in low-cost flats as it is considered a facility and common property, or collect parking charges,” said Lim.

“We want to have these issues addressed because these could create a dangerous precedent and affect other similar projects.”

source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/6/21/central/8936201&sec=central

 

Another version from with comments from the developer:

SOME house owners of Impian Seri Setia low cost flats in Sungai Way, Petaling Jaya are caught in a quandary with various issues surfacing after the completion of their units.

Selangor MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Theng Book and its deputy chairman Kelvin Chong accompanied several house owners — former illegal squatter residents of Jalan SS98/4 who opted to purchase the units — to hand over a memorandum to Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Roslan Sakiman to help settle their problems recently.

Chong said the complainants were asked to vacate their premises in 2008 for redevelopment and given the option of either staying in other low-cost flats at the expense of the developer Taipan Focus Sdn Bhd or receive an allowance of RM124 every month, for three years pending the completion of the flats.

“The developer has delayed the completion by about six months. They have submitted the application for the Certificate of Fitness (CF) to the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) on May 23.

The CF for the units were issued yesterday.

Other issues include high maintenance fees and allocation of parking spaces.

“The maintenance fee was fixed at RM86.90 per month, almost double the amount compared with other similar low cost flats such as Pangsapuri Permai in Taman Medan (RM45) and Impian Baiduri in Jalan 226 (RM46.50).

“To make matters worse, there are 476 units but only about 200 car parking spaces. And each parking lot is on sale for RM5,500, a huge amount considering each hose only costs RM35,000,” said Chong.

Theng doubts the legality of selling parking spaces. He also expressed his dissatisfaction over the clause by the developer stating that any renovation done by external contractors will void the defect liability period of 18 months.

“The clause was not specified clearly, Basic renovations like installation of iron grilles and doors should be allowed and not subjected to the clause.

“The purchasers also complained that the charges imposed by internal contractors are double the amount compared with others,” he said. [typical of developers]

When contacted, Taipan Focus vice-president Simon Ignatius said they have complied to all the regulation by the Selangor government.

“There has been a delay but we are already providing them with temporary housing at low-cost houses in Subang and absorbing the costs.

“Those who rent elsewhere rejected our offer and are receiving an allowance of RM124 every month without fail.

“The maintenance fee is not the same for all low-cost houses but calculated accordingly by totaling the costs and dividing by the number of units. [divide by total cost? so this project cost is high, but house price and house size still same range?]

“Regarding the parking space allocation, the guideline set by Selangor government for low-cost houses when we got the approval in 2007 was to provide one car parking space for every two units thus the number. There are free open parking spaces outside and about 200 basement parking spaces which are charged,” he said, adding that they were also building a private tiered parking spaces nearby which the residents can utilise. [ so, basement parking is charged, while the private tiered parking should also be chargable ones ]

“Beautifying the house is not renovation. As long as the renovation does not interfere with the wiring, plumbing or the natural structure of the building, it is okay. Therefore, installation of grilles and doors are fine,” he added.

A purchaser Chang Mei Yong who is currently temporarily residing in a low-cost flats in Subang just want to move in to her new home.

“Living in Subang is very difficult for me especially since I rely on buses to go around. I just want to come back to my original place where I am comfortable,” she said.

Chong hopes the mayor would interfere and expedite the issuing of the CF and have a dialogue with the developer, city council and house owners to help solve their problems fast.

source: http://www.mca.org.my/en/flat-owners-want-mayor-to-help-settle-issues-with-developer/

 

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Who stays in PPR flats?

June 14th, 2011
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I passed by few of the low cost flats in KL area. Indeed, some of them have really expensive cars parked in their compounds. Maybe its time some sort of occupant audit is done to verify if they are eligble for these flats.

Part of the problem is due to relocating squatters or those displaced from plantations. I guess you have to discount these type of occupants. Not sure if the government informed them that they need to pay after being relocated. Or maybe they think since they were displaced, they need not pay any rent in the new place.

 

MERCEDES Benz, LCD television sets, laptops, computers, air-conditioning, wallpaper, wall-to-wall carpeting, marble tiles, these and more can be found in numerous units of people’s housing schemes (PPR) in Kuala Lumpur.

The low-cost housing schemes are built to re-house squatters and for the urban poor, however about 70% of those living in the units do not fall below the poverty line.

Thousands of residents living in these government housing schemes are living in luxury with some owning cars like Mercedes and Honda Civic.

A check by StarMetro at many of the public low-cost flats in the city revealed that at least 80% have Astro, while many have air-conditioners installed.

In the units at PPR Seri Alam in Sungei Besi, owners had made extensive renovations.

The floors have been re-tiled with marble, the toilet doors were changed to foldable ones, while the kitchen area was upgraded to a dry and wet kitchen.

In another unit the owner had installed air-conditioning for both of the rooms. Both rooms also had computers. Some units had been decorated with wallpaper while there is even a unit which had wall carpets installed.

A resident, who did not want to be named, said he was waiting for the government to offer the units for free.

A tenant renting a shop in the same PPR owed DBKL RM15,000 in rental. The shop has since been shut down with the owners no where in sight.

“I have not paid a single month’s rent since I moved into a PPR 10 years ago,’’ said a tenant from PPR Desa Tun Razak.

A PPR Kg Muhibbah resident, who owed City Hall about RM7,000 in rental, said: “I have not paid for years and they (DBKL) will never kick me out.’’

“DBKL offered me a unit on condition that I pay up all rental owed to them. But why should I? It’s been free all along and why would I want to take a loan and buy it now,’’ he added.

 

source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/6/14/central/8886425&sec=central

It costs DBKL lots of money obviously!

 

Residents living in government low-cost housing owe City Hall millions of ringgit in rent. Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail said 70% of these recalcitrant tenants can easily afford to pay yet refuse to do so.

ERRANT tenants living in public low-cost flats owe Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) more than RM57mil and the figure does not include the RM25mil which is written off as bad debt because the local authority is unable to collect rental from those who absconded.

The highest owed by a tenant from PPR Kg Limau is RM35,581 — rent accumulated since the early 1980’s, while another who is renting a shoplot in PPR Desa Tun Razak owes RM36,171.

About 2,000 tenants of Desa Rejang low-cost housing in Setapak owed the highest amount in rental and water arrears of RM4,566,517.

KL mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail said 70% of those owing rent were recalcitrant tenants who could afford to pay, yet refused to do so.

A total of 52,851 low-cost units are being rented out and 36,995 tenants have rental arrears.

Ahmad Fuad said most of these tenants were squatters relocated from various slum areas in the city into government low-cost flats.

“The government has good intention when they re-housed these people under the zero-squatter policy, but the squatters do not appreciate their new environment where their mindset is used to having everything for free,’’ he said.

Fuad added that Malaysia was the only country in the world where the government provided homes for poor residents at a low rate of between RM90 and RM124 per month.

“You will never get such comfortable units with basic facilities like this in Tokyo or Taiwan,’’

“The government is even selling these flats located at prime areas at only RM35,000 when the units are easily valued between RM80,000 and RM90,000.

“This is the sacrifice our government is making and people still don’t appreciate their blessings,’’ he said.

Fuad also said about 20,000 poor families had been deprived of buying or renting these low-cost units because they were not eligible as the units had been allocated for squatters.

Some families have been on the waiting list since 2004.

DBKL has about 4,000 vacant units which are offered to squatters pending their relocation exercise.

“There are many families who want to buy and rent these units yet we cannot give it to them because they are not squatters.

“The squatters on the other hand refuse to take up the units as they want the government to give them houses.

“In the end, there are no winners yet DBKL is accused for not being sensitive to the needs of the people,’’ he said.

Perhaps the lack of action against errant tenants has proven to be a disincentive.

The situation is made worse by the fact that residents can still have a place to sleep comfortably even when they fail to pay the monthly rental.

The scenario is only getting worse as the figures of unpaid rental is increasing each year.

Last year, the figure of unpaid rental had reached an all-time-high of RM17,326,663.

For the first three months this year, RM6,709,319 in rental is owed to DBKL.

According to figures provided by DBKL, revenue from rental of PPR units last year is RM78.6mil while maintenance cost was a whopping RM158.5mil.

It costs DBKL more money to maintain the units than to rent them out. The rental per unit is RM124 while it costs them RM250 to maintain one unit per month.

Clearly, the city has to find a solution soon to resolve the problem or else it is the taxpayers who will continue to bear the brunt.

source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/6/14/central/8886166&sec=central

 

 

 

 

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