POLLS FOCUS With snap polls on the horizon, both the BN and Pakatan Rakyat governments are moving fast to show that they are serious about solving one of the most pressing issues faced by the electorate - affordable housing.

In the past few months, both sides have rolled out affordable housing schemes in what analysts believe is an obvious ploy to rope in support, particularly from young voters for whom this issue is of great concern.

NONE For the BN, said Universiti Malaya political scientist Noor Sulastry Yurni Ahmad ( right ), the programme is part of a list of seemingly “rushed” announcements for this purpose.

“(The programme) is an obvious political strategy for young voters. There are at least a million first-time voters, not including those who voted in 2008.”

Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan concurs with the view.

And while he believes that dishing out 100 percent loans to those who can barely afford repayments is “dangerous”, Wan Saiful thinks the BN has been “clever” in announcing the schemes now.

“By announcing (that it is building affordable homes now) and making (the homes) available only in three years’ time, (the government) makes it in the interest of young voters to give the mandate to BN again.

abdullah hukum apartment 240508 apartment “The argument is simple. (BN is telling the young): ‘If you vote for BN now, you will get what BN has promised after the election. But if you vote for others, you may not get the property you want because they may have different policies.

“Faced with such uncertainty, most voters would choose the safer way out,” he said.

Quoting Ideas advisor Khaw Veon Szu, Wan Saiful added that locking young people into home mortgages also helps the case of the ruling coalition as this will make them averse to “changes that might upset the apple cart”.

Same policies, different governments

But those wanting to compare Pakatan and BN’s policy on housing will soon find that there is little difference between the two (see table below).

The Selangor government’s scheme has subtle differences, like income threshold, property prices and target groups, indicating a continuation of housing policy even with a change of government.

y4c ethnic forum 280307 lim teck ghee 1 Centre for Policy Initiatives chief economist Lim Teck Ghee ( right ) said this is no surprise.

“The solution to socio-economic problems - coming from the BN or the Pakatan side - will not differ much since the technical variables are exactly the same. What will make the difference is the political will and not so much the level of technical expertise,” he said.

Lim said that BN is at a “massive disadvantage” on this front due to its chequered track record that voters may find “unforgiveable” compared to Pakatan, which has less political baggage and is thus more acceptable.

High perception of corruption, added political scientist James Chin, may also throw the spanner in the works despite the BN government’s best efforts to show they mean business.

“Those who get a piece of the action will be grateful and be swayed to the BN, but for every person who does, there will be nine others who do not and would be pissed off and think ‘what cable did this person pull to get in?’” said the Monash University lecturer.

No debts of gratitude

BN will also need to learn to adapt to the fact that the youth, unlike the predecessors, do not subscribe to the notion of “debts of gratitude”, added Noor Sulastry who researches youth voting trends.

azlan She said that such approaches, like that of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin who reminded the audience to “vote for BN” at the launch of the affordable housing scheme, quite simply rub young people the wrong way.

 

“The youth are independent and don’t depend on government hand-outs. Yet, they feel that if they don't take it, it's a waste.

“To them it’s a case of, ‘I’ll take this, but I’ll think about who to vote for later’,” she said.

azlan