When tabling the Federal Budget 2005, the Prime Minister, Dato Seri Abdullah Badawi stated “…The Government is determined to ensure that every Malaysian will have access to affordable homes.”

Sibu Jaya Garden-Terraced House...recently launched by Housing Minister,Dato Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.600 units of these spacious yet affordable houses are built by the Housing Development Corporation and Amcorp Builders Sdn	Front View...these new concept homes have ample front lawn and cars are parked a short distance away.With a built-up area of 1,162 sq.ft.,these double-storey 5 bedroom houses will bring the family together

He went on to say “…During the period 1971-2003, the Government constructed 490,000 units of low-cost houses while the private sector constructed 509,000 units for low-income families. The Government intends to provide an additional 100,000 units of affordable homes to be implemented through the
Industrialised Building System (IBS).” He continues, …”This system [IBS] will ensure quality construction, save cost, create a safer and cleaner working
environment as well as reduce the dependence on foreign workers. The usage of IBS components in Government building projects will be increased from 30 percent currently to 50 percent commencing 2005. Housing developers who utilise IBS components exceeding 50 percent, will be given full exemption on levy imposed by CIDB.”

The State Government in its recent 2005 State Budget has allocated a sum of money for housing development. The Chief Minister, Pehin Sri Dr. Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud said that “…the social and community development sector is proposed to be allocated with RM177 million or 9% of total development
budget for 2005. This is mainly to fund the implementation of social and community services programmes including housing, kampong extension schemes, sports and recreational facilities.”

Kitchen &Diner	Spacious …the living room has a reasonably ample space

For a house to be called a home, there ought to be an element of comfort, a loving family that stays together, and a conducive environment that would persuade the family to be together indoors. The Ministry of Housing under its minister, Dato Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg hopes to create a people-friendly
environment in housing estates while developing the community through its housing programmes and schemes. It does this through the Housing Development Corporation which comes under the purview of the Ministry. At present, the corporation has completed about 63 housing projects in Sarawak building about 28,300 units of houses. “There are some changes that we will do, not only to build affordable houses, but also promote family cohesion as well as the community. We want our housing estates to be friendly to the residents and the whole community. This is the policy we want to carry out,” says Abang Johari.

For a house to be comfortable to live in, the occupant of the house should have an environment that is conducive for them to love being indoors, thus making the family unit more cohesive. The present makeup of houses for the low-income is sadly lacking in human touch – the size of the built-up area is
comparatively small (about 420 square feet); there’s a feeling of monotony and lacking in identity; and above all there’s a feeling that the house is but a shelter and not a home for the family unit. And this is compounded by the labelling or branding of the houses as low-cost. “We have to change the concept,” says Abang Johari, preferring to call the concept of homes for low-income family as affordable homes. “Drop the ‘low-cost’ and put in ‘affordable house’ instead which is based on the capability of the people to purchase. In that way, we will give them a sense of pride of ownership in their houses.“

Abang Johari is also glad that the federal government is in the process of changing the definition of low-cost houses, preferring affordable homes instead.
Under this new concept of affordable homes, the structure and design of these homes need not necessarily be of linear terracing – which are all lined up along road as we see them now. They could be in cluster or honeycomb type terraced houses which is a very different concept altogether. Therefore, each housing estate will have a varied character of terrace houses and not be monotonous. One cluster of houses shall have red colour roof, while another will have green or yellow colour.

“We will bring in certain element of environmental aspect where in between you can put up a courtyard –blending the house with a garden – and unlike the linear terraced houses where only part of the house will share some of the sunlight penetration, a cluster terraced houses will get the sunlight from all direction.” Once the “low-cost” term is dropped, then our architects can conceptualise new designs without raising the price of the house. The build-up
area will be increased to a minimum of 750 sq ft. with ample space that will make the occupants feel proud to call it home.

“This is being done in other countries and this is what I call ‘friendly’ in terms of environment, interior décor, and affordability,” added Abang Johari. Some low-cost housing are lacking in parking spaces. But this will now change. People’s disposable income has now increased and cars that are now becoming a necessity are affordable through many financing schemes. “We have to provide the people with facilities proportionate to the increase in disposable income,” says Abang Johari.

These new affordable homes will have recreational facilities such as a mini library or resource centre that can accommodate 150-200 people. “We want to inculcate a culture where the young will pick up the reading habit and a place where they can prepare for their exams and study quietly.” “When a house is not ‘friendly’, one cannot induce the children to stay indoors and once they leave the house unsupervised, this can be the root cause of our social problem. The house is simply not a conducive place to be in. It’s hot, small, and unfriendly. It will eventually affect the children’s performance in their studies. This phenomenon is particularly strong on urban-migrated family seeking a living. They will have a culture shock.”

Here ’s The Form...the HDC team are inundated with enquiries from the public during the launch of Sibu Jaya Garden Terraces Homes,a new concept in affordable family homes	Affordable Homes For The People …(from Left)Wan Mohd.Yusof Wan Moss,CEO Housing Development Corporation;YB Wahab Aziz,Chairman,Housing Development Corporation;Dato Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg,Housing Minister;and Dr.Soon Choon Teck, Assistant Minister of Housing launching the Sibu Jaya New Affordable Homes

The first batch of clustered affordable homes that the Ministry will come up with will be situated along Jalan Astana in Kuching. The cluster housing concept will have a garden at the rear of the homes where children will have room to play rather than at the front of the house or on roads immediately in front. The end product is a home where you long to come home to and this will lead to a happy family together building a happy wholesome society.

Acknowledgement: Puan Ahadiah Zamhari; Joyce Melai; Housing Development Corporation, Sarawak