Oleh: Kartigesu Rajamanickam
Organisasi/ Individu: MARHAEN (PSM)
Kod Dasar: 3e Keadilan Ekonomi
Isu dan Polisi Semasa:
"Housing demand for the estate workers has existed for many decades because the housing quarters built for estate workers are not owned by the workers. The houses are allocated temporarily, specifically according to their employment period. If and when an employee/worker has retired or terminated, the worker is required to leave the allocated house and return the house key to the employer. The estate workers’ grievance is that their low wage is insufficient to afford the available houses in the market as the prices are constantly increasing. Most of these estate workers are compelled to do multiple jobs to make their ends meet. Thus, their dream/intention of purchasing a house according to the market rules is nearly impossible and rarely achieved by the majority of the estate workers. The Housing Scheme for Estate Workers formulated by Tun Razak in the ‘70s remains an extraordinary policy on paper, but its implementation is far from reality. "
Nilai-nilai & Kepercayaan
"Housing is a fundamental right for everyone. All this while, estate workers are deceived with promises of owning their own houses, while at the same time, their wages remain incredibly low. The allocation of quarters creates a situation for the estate workers to neglect their efforts in building their own house. Stakeholders such as politicians exploit owning individual homes, which eventually ties the estate workers to the estate quarters allocated by their employers. House prices in the market are exorbitantly expensive to the financial capacity of the estate workers. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the government and estate owners to forge a corporation in implementing the Housing Scheme for their respective employees."
Penyelesaian:
"1. The Federal Government must promulgate and execute the Estate Workers Housing Act. 2. Promulgation of this act must ensure that the estate owners/employers adopt and abide by the Housing Scheme policy for their estate workers, including ex-estate workers, in complete ownership on these houses. 3. The housing scheme is recommended upon the cooperation and a full subsidy from the Federal government or State government, including the Human Resource Minister, Housing and Local Government Minister. 4. Existing facilities built for the comfort and needs of the estate workers such as schools, kindergartens, fields, worshipping places, halls and other benefits must be retained or shifted to the location where new houses according to the scheme shall be built. 5. The Housing Scheme of PPR Ladang Siliau in Negeri Sembilan is an excellent example that can be imitated. The combined effort of the Federal and State governments to build 150 houses yielded a welcoming result. Half of the houses granted for the workers of the Siliau estate are owned by Sime Darby through land appropriation and were sold to the workers through a rent to own system. This scheme allows the buyers to purchase with a monthly instalment between RM200 to RM250 for a tenure of 20 to 25 years before the rights are transferred to the buyers. In this case, the estate workers. "
Sumber Rujukan:
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