Journal of Design and the Built Environment (Jun 2011)
Pragmatic housing policy in the quest for low-income group housing delivery in Malaysia
Abstract
The low income group (LIG) housing is one of the contemporary challenges of most developing countries and it is assuming to be 'perpetual' problem in some of these countries. This paper explores the Malaysian housing policies on its meticulous implementation and how the pragmatism aspect of such policies improve significantly the housing affordability and accessibility to the majority of the LIG in the country. The study built upon multiple data sources. These sources include empirical data collected through structured and semi-structured questionnaires administered to the household respondents and stakeholder agencies respectively. In addition, published literature and periodicals were reviewed. The five low-cost housing estates in Kuala Lumpur, a Federal Territory of Malaysia, were selected to serve as case study, in order to enrich the study. The findings of the study show that the majority of the beneficiaries of low-cost housing programmes fall within the principal target of LIG and much contribution has been made to the cohort housing. The study also provides evidence that is contrary to path dependent policies. In particular, the Malaysian housing policies adoption of pragmatic and all inclusive role of the government, provide institutional support for a well functional housing delivery to the LIG not only in Kuala Lumpur, but for the entire country.
