The Selangor government's proposal to allow wealthy Malaysians to buy and rent out low-cost units to the poor has drawn flak from rights advocates.

The Star

today quoted Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo as proposing to amend housing rules in order to allow the rich to buy low-cost units for rental to the poor. He said this was designed to cut down on the losses suffered by housing developers.

Grassroots social rights movement, Community Development Centre co-ordinator S Arutchelvan described the idea as "a joke".

"This is most ridiculous. It reaffirms the harsh reality that poor people still can't afford to own houses, and the state is continuing to ignore that fact," he said when contacted.

He said affordability is only one of the hurdles that those in the low-income group have to overcome in trying to own low-cost homes.

"The main problem is the fact that the state does not build houses that people want or need," he said.

He said the poor, most of whom are people who have been forced out of plantations, temporary housing or rural settlements, have lived in houses all their lives.

"If the government builds low-cost terrace houses, I'm sure all the units would be snapped up in no time at all. It is just not our culture to live in high-rise flats...hence, the general reluctance to buy such units."

He said the increased price of low-cost units from RM25,000 to a maximum of RM42,000 is also a problem for the poor.

"Low-cost units are not being built in a central location , which further isolates the already-marginalised communities from accessing basic amenities and public facilities," he added.

Arutchelvan said difficulty in getting loans also require the government's urgent intervention.

"The banks and developers usually offer some kind of arrangement, but most of the time it is not a good deal for the poor," he said.

'Review financial arrangements'

Consumer Association of Penang complaints section head Ravinder Singh questioned the rationale behind the Mohd Khir's proposal.

He said there was not much difference between paying rental and housing loan instalments.

"If these people can afford to pay rental, they can also afford to pay loan instalments. The state is not looking at the root of the problem."

He pointed out that there were problems in obtaining loans.

"The poor are unable to meet the loan application requirements because eligibility is based on a certain income limit."

Ravinder proposed that the government considers providing low-interest loans for the poor, similar to those enjoyed by government servants.

"The banks should also review loan requirements for the poor, such as employment status (whether temporary or permanent) and age. Failing this, the government should take over the job from the banks," he said.

He said Selangor should try to get its poor to own houses and not burden them with rentals or temporary housing.

Era Consumer president N Marimuthu described Mohd Khir's idea as "absolute nonsense".

"Selangor's problem is bad town planning. The state government has failed to take into account provisions for public facilities and basic amenities. If you keep dumping poor people here and there, you will continuously face housing problems," he said.

He said an online national housing register would be a much better idea as this would allocate low-cost units based on the applicant's preferred location.

"The register or a national housing board could be formed together with a national housing bank, where the applicant is required to save at least 10 percent of monthly income in order to qualify for a loan. This could also help the government in planning housing schemes."

He said the proposal was submitted to then Housing and Local Government Minister Dr Ting Chew Peh more than six years ago, but nothing has happened.

Marimuthu was also convinced that the rich would not want to buy a house with the poor in mind.

"Firstly, who would want to buy and rent a house to the poor when they can live there themselves?

"Then there is collection of rental, which will presumably be problematic, given that the tenant is already trying hard to make ends meet."