JULY 21 ― Dr Teo Yeoyenn brought to the forefront the other side of coin of Singapore's reality in 2018, in an unconventional bid for academic work to gain public recognition and spark national dialogue. Her bookis a compilation of her essays concerning her work in ethnographic research at the Housing Development Board flats.
Urban life in Malaysia, and especially in Kuala Lumpur, shares certain social and economic characteristics with Singapore. Malaysia is moving towards urbanisation. In fact, Malaysia has one of the highest urbanisation rates in East Asia. Urbanisation creates a new dilemma that requires a fresh narrative on urban poor. I remember that former Federal Territories minister Khalid Samad once suggested there is a need for a redefinition of “urban poor”. This is because despite numerous social assistance programmes, poverty in the city persists.In Kuala Lumpur, out of the nearly 830,000 labour force, 43 per cent workers are categorised of three main jobs .
Over the next 20 years, the government is planning to redevelop its ageing and deteriorating public housing estates. Increasing the number of units through the construction of higher-rise housing is expected to offer more homes and ensure the continuation of affordable rental schemes. The middle and low working class must be given better choices for affordable rental housing until they are ready to make a good decision to own a house.