WHILE low-cost flats in urban areas are meant to cater to the needs of low-income earners, there is a sub-category of occupants that need to be looked into.

The Malaysian Insight recently talked to several disabled people, elderly people, children and others living in such flats in Penang to gauge to what extent their needs and expectations are met.

Ong Moi Lee (not her real name), who is blind, lives with her two children in a two-room unit in Desa Permai Indah,  commonly known as Hamnah Flats, in Sungai Dua near Universiti Sains Malaysia’s main campus.

She said the developer of the 10 blocks of flats saw to it that disabled people like her were allocated units on the ground floor so as to ensure easier mobility.

“These housing blocks do not have lifts because they are five-storey walk-up flats. My worry is that there are no emergency staircases in case of fire,” she said.

And even if there are lifts in a building, Ong suspects that the blind are not consulted when designing them because “the lift buttons in Braille in some other flats are fixed upside down, making them difficult to read”.

To guard against vandalism, some newly upgraded lifts (such as the ones in McCallum flats)  have had the button panels covered by glass. As a result, the Braille button cannot be touched (and read) properly by the blind.

Parking for cars and, to some extent, motorcycles, is a problem for most dwellers. Ong’s usual parking space is often taken up by other people.

The low-cost Kampung Melayu flats in Air Itam, consisting two blocks of 963 units, have three lifts each, with each lift skipping certain floors while the other lifts serve the other floors.

This means that, said resident Haji Mohd Ibrahim Abdul, 68, if one lift breaks down because of, say, vandalism, a person may have to walk up or down the stairs to go to the lifts that serve the other floors – thereby making it a bit more challenging for the disabled and the elderly.

To make things worse, a few bannisters along the staircases have been removed by vandals.

Ibrahim has been living in his one-room flat since 1972, and his block was spruced up not too long ago with assistance from the state government.

In his block, the corridors are now lighted up and the bathrooms are now equipped with sitting toilet bowls, which are helpful for the elderly as well as the disabled.

Chairman of Kampung Melayu Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) Ariffin Abidin said when the flats were opened most of the residents were people from George Town who worked menial jobs like drivers and dock labourers.

He said one of the original conditions for flat applications was that the applicant must not own a car, which explains why many then rode bicycles to travel.

But 20 years later, Ariffin said, children and grandchildren of these early occupants brought cars and motorcycles that eventually crowded the available space in the area so that even the playground has been hemmed in.

He said parking was a problem here because the housing scheme was not designed to hold a large number of cars (similar to other low-cost flats on the island), but some space has been allocated for the disabled’s vehicles.

Ariffin said there are primary and secondary schools nearby, as well as a supermarket and wet market.

At the Sungai Pinang People’s Housing Project (PPR) flats, or commonly known as “Flet 100”, its JKKK is a lot more active in addressing the concerns of its multi-ethnic occupants.

JKKK secretary Noorjan Ibrahim, who has been a resident for 17 years, oversees matters concerning security and cleanliness.

“Apart from cleanliness, security is important to us,” said Noorjan, “and is handled by Pertubuhan Anak Muda Pulau Pinang that is made up of mainly young people from our flats.”

Retiree Fatimah Pawanchik, 68, is content in her three-room flat that she shares with 8 other occupants, while 67-year-old Teoh Har Eng, who lives with other family members, has not much to complain except for the occasional throwing of rubbish from above.

Disabled Suresh Kumar Krishnasamy, 52, sells parking coupons for a living while fellow disabled Lim Beng Sun, 70, was a contract worker. Being single, both men rent single rooms for RM60 a month, and they don’t have to pay water and electricity bills.

The disabled and elderly are allocated units on ground and first floors so as to facilitate mobility.

There isn’t enough space for recreational activities in the area, hence children have to play badminton in an open area flanked by the two blocks where many motorcycles take up space.

Muhaimin Abdul Kadir, 11, Ahmad Elias bin Amilin Abu Bakar, 10, and a few other friends were visibly upset that they could not play football within the blocks, only to be reminded by their elders that they could cross the road to the field belonging to a nearby Tamil school.

There’s a playground for kids to play at the back of the flats, which also functions as a meeting place where mothers and others socialise and bring light refreshment to while away the evening. – March 25, 2018.