NST – 21 March 2013
THEY live in a high-rise but their
mentalities are disproportionately low. That best describes some of the 4,000
residents of the People's Housing Project (PPR) in Section 8 of Kota Damansara.
With missing staircase handrails, vandalised
fire safety equipment and lifts, the living conditions at the four 18-storey
blocks of flats are fast becoming deplorable.
This situation, however, did not happen
overnight. The residents claim that they have been facing these problems and a
host of others, over the past six years. If the matter is left unattended, more
public facilities there will suffer further damage. While fingers are pointed
at the local council and management office for slacking in maintenance duties,
the residents must also consider how these amenities, built with their
convenience in mind, are so easily vandalised by the residents themselves.
Although a handful of bad hats are probably
responsible for the vandalism, the majority of residents who want to enjoy a
more conducive living environment must also play a role to keep these public
facilities in good condition.
Instead of just relying on the authorities to
launch awareness campaigns, the residents' association or even the management
body should constantly educate the residents on the need to keep their
environment safe for all. A weekly voluntary spruce-up, a monthly
gotong-royong, and "in-house" campaigns to keep the facilities in
good conditions can help drive the message that it is the responsibility of
all.
The authorities and the residents of public
housing can emulate some of the strategies employed by Singapore's Housing and
Development Board (HDB) to keep the housing schemes in good order. Apart from
the main upgrading programme, which involves the demolition of entire blocks
for redevelopment, HDB also carries out smaller scale programmes to upgrade
facilities at the housing schemes. These include a regular home improvement
programme that addresses common maintenance problems to ensure that they do not
escalate into big issues.
Should these initiatives fail, the
authorities may have to draft a regulation on public housing use so that the
problem of damage to public amenities can be minimised.
Take the Yukon government, for example, which
has introduced a Government Facilities Use Regulation with the aim of
addressing the issue of damage inflicted on government facilities. With such a
regulation in place, the authority can effectively govern the maintenance,
management, proper use, and protection of government facilities. The government
states that the regulation may be enforced through fines or removal of
property. A similar regulation could be introduced for public housing here. The
authorities here are already being lenient by not evicting the residents who
unashamedly live in public housing without paying their monthly rent. Closing
one eye on vandals bent on destroying public amenities will only bring on more
problems.
Source: New Straits Times
Photo courtesy of Flickr / MVI