HOUSEWIFE N. Maligah laughed when asked if her family planned to move out of their cramped public housing unit in George Town, Penang, to something bigger and nicer.

Her family is one of thousands who live in the 102,896 government-owned public housing units, or PPR, throughout the country.

For them the idea of owning a nicer home is like building a castle in the sky.

“We never thought of that. We really can’t afford to. We have no savings,” said the mother of three schooling children aged 11, 9 and 5.

The 42 year-old’s husband is the family’s sole bread winner, who earns RM1,300 a month as a deliveryman at a hardware supply company. Besides the couple and children, Maligah’s elderly mother also lives with them in the flat at Jalan Sungai.

Those who live in the government- or local council-owned flats in Penang pay only RM100 a month for rent. Only household with an income of RM1,500 or below a month qualify for one.

With such low incomes, these families hardly have enough to cover food, household expenses and children’s school needs. Most do not have savings and are in no position to qualify for a bank loan.

In August, state housing executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo said there were 2,370 PPR units in the Penang while 320 of them were vacant.

Penang’s houses are known to be expensive. In its recent quarterly bulletin, Bank Negara Malaysia said that property prices in the state were “severely unaffordable” due to the mismatch in the prices of houses and household incomes.

The state government has imposed a price cap of RM300,000 for affordable homes on the island and RM250,000 on the mainland.

Meanwhile, low-cost homes are priced at RM42,000, while low-medium cost homes cost RM72,500.

In September, Penang Federal Action Council chairman Zainal Abidin Osman said 16,297 units in the 1Malaysia Housing Schemes (PR1MA) would be built in six locations in the state.

PR1MA homes are priced between RM100,000 and RM400,000, and only first-time buyers with monthly household incomes of between RM2,500 and RM15,000, qualify.

Other dreams

But these homes are still out of reach for those living in PPRs, such as single mother Mariah Abdul Ghani, 50, who lives in the Ampang Jajar PPR in Butterworth.

All of the income the cleaner earns goes to making sure her youngest son finishes secondary school.

Mariah earns RM1,000 a month. She raised three sons alone since her husband died 11 years ago, when her youngest was only 5 months old.

Always strapped for cash, her two older sons, now 25 and 20, dropped out of school after Form Two.

“My hopes and dreams are all in my youngest. There is little I can do for my older boys. They both work in a bread factory and will take care of their own lives.

“My priority now is the make sure their little brother has a better education and a better future,” she said.

With her small salary, Mariah has no savings to speak of. She cannot afford to pay higher rent elsewhere or get a bank loan to buy her own home.

Even now, she struggles to get by and pay her boy’s schooling expenses. Half of her pay goes to food and household expenses, while the rest goes to her flat’s rent, utility bills, school bus fare, petrol and other necessities.

Mariah does not get any welfare aid as a single mother since her two sons became adults. She worries about money for her youngest boy’s new school uniforms and extra classes for the coming school year.

“He sits for UPSR (Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah) next year. There will be extra classes to attend at school. That means more expenses.

“He doesn’t get aid as well, so I must find the money for it. I am not asking for much, but how I wish he can get government aid for his education.”

Mariah earns some extra cash by getting up at 2am to fry nuggets and “cekodok” (banana fritters) for a stall operated by another resident in front of the flat.

“The nuggets and cekodok get me RM400 to RM500 but that still is inclusive of cost. I don’t make much profit with flour, cooking oil and bananas getting pricier.

“I also collect recyclables to sell. That got me RM12 the last time. I have no choice if I want to make ends meet.

“So, no I am not thinking of moving from the flats. Not that this is a great place, but this is the best I can do,” said Mariah.

Up to the kids

A retired carpenter who only gave his surname Tan, said he always thought about moving out of the flats but said it was a dream that only his children could fulfil.

The 58-year-old has lived in the Jalan Sungai PPR for 17 years with his wife. His three children now work as a clerk, cook and a factory hand. Now, only two of the children live with the couple.

“If we have to rent, then this flat is the best at RM100 a month. The cheaper the rent, the better. Out there, you have to pay RM400, RM500.

“Buying an apartment is expensive. Most of the better ones will cost around RM400,000. My kids can’t afford it now since they don’t earn much.

“Maybe one day. For now, we are okay here. We are used to our environment. It’s not so bad,” he said.

For Rejemah Jaafar, 66, the Ampang Jajar PPR flats will probably remain her home until her last breath. She has lived there with her husband for 10 years.

“We used to live in a village in Permatang Pasir, but the house now belongs to my younger sibling. So, we moved here since we can’t afford to rent elsewhere.

“I think it is likely we will stay here until we die. Where else can we afford to live?” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Rejemah has five children and 11 grandchildren, and she runs a mixed rice stall outside the flats with her husband. They earn a small income to get by and stay active in their old age. 

“Our children, except for one, all live elsewhere. It is good to do something on our own to earn a bit of money,” she said.

Instead of a bigger house, Rejemah has more realistic dreams. She hopes for aid to get a stainless steel counter that might give her roadside food business a boost.

“It is tough these days. Everything is expensive. It is hard on the families here who all earn low wages.

“Many families here earn around RM1,000. They find it tough to even pay the RM100 rent. Even if there are homes priced at RM20,000, we can’t afford them,” she said. – November 23, 2017.