QUALITY OF LIFE FOR RESIDENTS IN SECTION 19 FLATS IN SHAH ALAM

What constitute a low cost flat? Its basically the price of RM25,000.00 whereby the actual cost has been partially subsidized by the government. The floor space is usually 600 sq. ft. to 650 sq. ft. The number of bedroom is three; due to social and family needs such as privacy for the male and female children. The toilet and the bathroom are separated for convenience and there are also a kitchen and a living room. This is quite comfortable for a family of an average size of 5 to 6 persons. Sometimes the price may be around RM42,000 for some reasons like it was built by a private developer.

The flats in Section 19 are considered low cost because they were build to house relocated squatters from some parts of Shah Alam. But there were other residents who were not relocated squatters as they were regular house buyers looking for affordable homes. When I did my in-depth interviews to collect qualitative data for my thesis, I was told that there were some issues with the community integration due to the anti-social behaviours of some of the relocated squatters. The relocated squatters were mostly Indians who had to move into the low cost flats due to the demolition of their squatter homes. They were given compensation and also given the priority to buy the low-cost flats. I would like to stress that not all the Indian residents were commented negatively. There were also well behaved Indian residents but most of the grouses were caused by some Indian individuals. The most common complaints were that some of these individuals came home late at night or early morning in a drunken state and made such a ruckus that woke up the other residents. Sometimes there were loud fights between these individuals. And the other residents were not keen to do anything like stopping the fight or giving advise or even reprimand the young ones because there were incidents of cars being scratched or the car tyres purposely punctured. These had caused much stress for the community, strained the neighbour relations and reduced the well-being of the residents.

The flats occupy 5 levels with the ground level empty where people parked their motorcycles and also where the children can be seen playing together or racing on their bicycles. I was told that there were frequent motorcycle thefts because it seems that it is quite easy to steal motorcycles. There was an incident where a lorry came at night and thieves would carry the motorcycles and leave with a full load. When I checked with the police data it confirmed that the highest number of motorcycle thefts happened in flats area.

These are walk-up flats and there are no elevators. People have to carry their stuffs, furniture, groceries and small children up the stairs. Residents hang their laundry on the window panes and sometimes the large garments hang downwards and looked so unsightly.

They even hang their laundry on the grounds such as on fences and on playground equipment. Yet many just hang their laundry outside their front door along the corridor.

Even then this practice if done carelessly blocked the passage way for other residents. There were also old sofas that were placed along the corridor which made the place looked messy. Another problem that the residents have to faced daily are the ugly graffiti on the walls and the pillars on the ground floor. This clearly is not a nice environment that we want to see everyday.

This shelter for the communal garbage bins was added later. Earlier, there was nothing to shelter the bins and when it rained the stench was so foul that residents living closest to the bins had to close their windows. This shelter did solve the problem of uncivilized residents who would throw their rubbish, their old stove and sometimes broken glass from level 4 or 5. 

Where is the telephone? 

There are many residents who did not like their flats dirty, messy or ugly. They just have to tolerate all this. If they can afford to buy more expensive homes in a nicer environment they will most probably move. I have talked to many residents living in flats in Shah Alam and Klang and mostly said the same thing. 

Although these residents have to put up with the issues of unruly and inconsiderate neighbours they also said that they are not all that unhappy with their living environment. They feel quite happy that they have easy access to facilities like the surau, the kindergarten for their small children, primary and secondary schools for their school-going children, grocery shops and many many more. 

The surau nearby

The kindergarten which is just a stone's throw away

The grocery shop located on the grounds of the flats

A gerai or a small eatery just next to the grocery shop

Of course this looked like a playground but it is not a good one because it lacked so many playing equipments. And there is also the problem of vandalism.

There is much more to be said about the quality of life of the residents in these type of flats but I will continue with this topic later on.

QUALITY OF LIFE IN LOW-COST FLATS OF SECTION 16, SHAH ALAM

I did my PhD research in the Quality of Life of Residents of Urban Low-Cost Flats in Klang and Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. The question of QOL for the low income people was always at the back of my mind. Although I came from an affluent background, I do have distant relatives who are not so well-off. When I was small I used to follow my maternal grandmother to visit these relatives homes. They were kind and friendly people but I could see that they have to work hard for their living like rubber-tapping and trishaw paddlers. But they seem happy to me. That was some 50 years ago when the economy of the country was different. I was born two years after the country's Independence from the British and Malaysia was still learning to form comprehensive policies and create strong strategies to build the economy of the country and its people.

Now Malaysia produced her own cars. Malaysians are computer savvy and many are highly educated. Just look out for the luxury cars on the Malaysian roads especially in the urban areas. I have seen Ferraris, Porches, BMWs, Mercedes, Bentlys, Jaguars and many many more. But we still have poor people in Malaysia. I won't consider the residents in low-cost flats poor but on the average the household income is between RM1500-RM2000.

There are many low-cost flats in Shah Alam and as I drove past them I always wonder whether the residents liked living there. Are they happy? Are they happy with their housing? With their neighbours? With the facilities provided for them? There are flats that have been in Shah Alam when I was a student in ITM, now UiTM. Way back in 1977, I have seen the flats in Section 16 from afar. And when I started to work in ITM in 1984, I saw that there were many more flats build in Shah Alam. In 1990 I bought a double storey link house in Section 18 Shah Alam and during that time I saw the low cost flats close up because the other neighbourhoods around Section 18 have many low-cost flats, low cost compact terrace houses and also low-cost cluster housing.

The following pictures show the low cost flats of Section 16 Shah Alam. These flats have been here since early 1970's. Thus the community here is quite stable because many residents had stayed here for so long. They know their neighbours well and many have no desire to leave. Some of the units in these flats here  are also rented out but the rent is quite high due to the strategic location near to the city, the Federal Highway and so many other public facilities. 

For some of these blocks, the ground level is allocated for grocery shops, private clinics, repair shops and some offices.

We can't help but notice that there are units with the satellite dish outside. Hmmmm......as I have said before the residents here are quite stable as they have been working for a long time, and renters are those who can afford the the rent. 

From the back lane we can see the air-condition compressors  mounted on the walls. Some of these residents can pay for comfort.

The above picture is showing the front portion of the flats. Some of the units have some sort of boundary between them like a row of potted plants. And most of the residents own cars and motorcycles. The flats are also provided with children playground (very minimal though) with some swings and slides. But as we can see in the picture below the playing area look nice as it is shaded by very large and tall trees that has been here since the flats were built.

I truly wonder what this playing 'thing' is suppose to be. It doesn't look safe nor attractive. But I am sure the children still find this 'thing' fun because children have such wonderful imagination.

The flats are not without any problems though. As it is normal anywhere any community is incomplete without anti-social and delinquent behaviours such as vandalism and littering. So as I surveyed around these flats I did come across some messy and dirty spots such as the communal garbage bins. 

And vandalism would not be complete without the public telephone as the helpless victim.

There will be more stories about other low cost flats in future postings. And also more insights about the QOL of the residents there.