Monster drivers need attitude change

Although bad habits are difficult to break, it is not an impossible task

dian household income in Malaysia has consistently exceeded 3.0 since 2004.

By 2014, the housing affordability ratio was 4.49, putting houses out of reach of many ordinary people.

According to Bank Negara, the issue of affordable housing reflects mainly the supply-demand imbalances in Malaysia, which worsened during the 2012-2014 period.

During these years, new housing supply fell short of the increase in demand (average supply of 85,000 new units versus the formation of 118,000 new households).

This is in contrast to the period 2007-2009, when the new supply exceeded demand for housing.

Analysts said the sudden “gold rush” by developers, shifting from the lower- and medium-end home categories into the highend market, is also causing the supply shortfall.

We are seeing the impact now. There is a huge overhang of highend residences as developers struggle to find buyers. Worst-hit areas are Johor and Kuala Lumpur.

The central bank said in a report that the slower rise in household incomes relative to house prices (see charts) is also adding to the problem.

Not unlike the overall cost of living issue, one of the burning issues as we approach the general election is not about cost but income level.

Household income has not moved up in tandem with the overall living costs.

Companies must gradually raise wages and salaries but it must be based on the productivity and competency of their workers.

A more startling fact is that 89 per cent of the working population earn less than RM5,000 a month, according to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

“In terms of contribution rates in mandatory saving, Malaysia is the world’s fifth highest, but the salary structure does not translate into a high savings amount,” EPF Head of Strategy Balqais Yusoff was quoted by Bernama as saying.

“So, we need to constantly review the wage structure and the minimum wage also needs to be aligned with the rising cost of living,” she said.

The government must be given some credit for putting more emphasis on building more affordable homes, especially through agencies such as PR1MA.

Yet there are still some concerns raised by young and potential buyers, who feel that the PR1MA units are quite limited and prices generally steep.

One economist, who declined to be named, said PR1MA, unfortunately, was just about picking friendly developers and contractors (who allegedly recommend their own land) and ending up building houses which are not so cheap after all.

Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin stirred a fresh debate on PR1MA when he said in Parliament that the agency, tasked with building affordable homes, was selling houses that were unaffordable to many Malaysians.

Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has issued a strong rejoinder, saying that the ministry had approved more than 70,000 units of PR1MA homes costing between RM188,000 and RM300,000 each.

By the way, the government needs to have better oversight and control of agencies and developers providing affordable homes.

As such, the statement by Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani that the government was looking at setting up a single entity to manage affordable housing issues in Malaysia was timely.

Speaking at Invest Malaysia 2017, Johari acknowledged that there are certain ongoing complications when it comes to affordable housing, brought on by property developers themselves.

“The problem is that there is no single body to oversee the property sector in Malaysia and that is why we have the definition of what is ‘affordable’ differing significantly from one property developer to another,” said Johari.

“Yes, there is an oversupply of high-end properties, especially in the Klang Valley.

“Properties are even being built in places that they should not,” he said.

Johari’s move is laudable. He should also get UDA and state economic development corporations to go back to basics and provide public housing, not private housing.

WHEN Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi made the call for all stakeholders to come together to come up with bolder measures to solve the problem of the rising number of road accidents and deaths, there were those who jumped.

There were some who thought Aziz was making excuses to justify “projects in the pipeline”, while others commented that the rising numbers was the government’s fault. That second bit was because these stakeholders were mostly government departments and agencies.

Some people jumped, also, because the deputy minister mentioned the possibility that one part of the solution should be to have stricter enforcement. In the minds of many, stricter enforcement would mean a greater problem for people.

Any suggestion for increased penalties for traffic offences would also have met with an uproar and seen as placing an extra burden on the people. Never mind that, logically speaking, you wouldn’t be burdened in this case if you don’t break any traffic rules.

It is, indeed, frustrating to see the number of accidents and deaths on Malaysian roads. For many years now, more than 6,000 people are killed annually. Last year, that number breached the 7,000 mark. Going by the monthly average this year, that number is set to go back to below 7,000, but that’s not a statistic to be proud of anyway.

Aziz had said it was time that everyone came to terms with the fact that previous national campaigns to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities had failed. This, too, saw the blame being laid on the government.

But, the fact of the matter is that the biggest portion of blame does not lie with the government. Yes, there is some lack of enforcement. Yes, some roads need to be improved. These, perhaps, have contributed to the problem.

No. The biggest portion of blame should go to those behind the wheels or those who do not maintain vehicles owned by them properly.

How many times have you yelled or cursed at an inconsiderate motorist who nearly caused you to get into an accident? Or at least muttered under your breath or stared at them? How many times have you been involved in an accident which was not your fault?

It is a running “joke” that normally caring, polite Malaysians become monsters when they get behind the steering wheel of a vehicle. It is, of course, no laughing matter.

(There’s a new “joke” that Malaysians also turn into monsters when immersed in the cyberworld of social media sites, but that’s a topic for another column, perhaps.)

Speeding, forcing your way into a different lane, the lack of use of indicators, aggressive or inconsiderate driving, recklessness, beating traffic lights, not coming to a stop at junctions,