IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science

PAPER • OPEN ACCESS

Implementation of affordable housing programmes in Johor, Malaysia for

sustainable housing
To cite this article: H Masram et al 2020 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 447 012025

View the article online for updates and enhancements.

This content was downloaded from IP address 216.158.219.7 on 04/03/2020 at 17:17

ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

Implementation of affordable housing programmes in Johor,

Malaysia for sustainable housing

H Masram1, S H Misnan2 and A M Yassin1

1
Faculty of Technology Management and Business, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn
Malaysia, 86400, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia.
2
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment and
Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor, Malaysia

Corresponding author’s email : [email protected]

Abstract. Sustainability in housing includes the concept of housing affordability that revolves
around the elements of sustainable housing affordability. Affordable housing provision could be
discussed under the context of social equity where it demonstrates the ability of all segments of
the population to have access to housing. Housing production in Malaysia is mostly dominated
by private sector developers and is generally based on supply and demand in the open market.
Government intervention in the form of policies and programmes that include affordable housing
programmes were introduced to assist all segment of population to have access to housing. This
study looks at the implementation of these programmes in the state of Johor, Malaysia. The
objectives of this paper are to define housing sustainability through implementation of affordable
housing programmes; to determine if these programmes comply with the concept of sustainable
housing affordability. Finally, general issues on its implementation will be identified. Findings
indicates that the concept of the housing programmes introduced fulfils the criteria for
sustainable housing affordability, such as in terms of its price, quality of house, specifications,
proximity to facilities and to work place. Some of the main issues identified on its
implementation at state and local government can be summarised as the existence of separation
of jurisdictions and authorities between the federal and state governments; conflicting
requirement for policies between state and federal government and lack of specific Standard
Operating Procedure (SOP), which contributes towards delays in the overall development
process.

1. Introduction
The most common concept of sustainable housing usually encompasses various aspects that include
sustainability with reference to the housing elements. However, sustainability in housing also includes
the concept of housing affordability that revolves around the elements of sustainable housing
affordability. In general, planning for housing provision is one of the major concerns of states regardless
of their socio-economic background and development stage. According to the latest available official
figures, Malaysia has a home ownership rate of 72.5% [1]. Housing ownership is more favoured for its
positive economic effects at national and individual levels [2]. As a bigger part of the population is
concerned about home ownership this has given the rise for the need to ensure that housing is accessible
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution
of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

and affordable to all level of society. Housing provision for medium-cost housing is significant, as it
constitutes towards the biggest bulk in the projected housing needs 1996 – 2020 where it forms 90.1%
from the overall projected housing needs in 2011-2015 Malaysia Plan. In Malaysia, both private and
public sector play an important role in the provision of housing. Both private and public sector share the
responsibility to provide for housing. Traditionally, housing for the lower income population are
provided for by the public sector while, the private sector will mostly provide for high and medium cost
housing. According to Agus [3], housing production in Malaysia is mostly dominated by private sector
developers. However, due to developers’ profit making priority, they tend to provide for higher end
housing for bigger profit margin and to offset loss that they bear to fulfil government’s requirement for
low cost housing. Therefore, intervention by government through the implementation of housing
policies is potential to achieve sustainable housing affordability by providing equal access to housing
for all segments of the population. The policy of getting private sector’s participation in various
affordable housing programmes that offers housing at mid-range pricing for middle income population
has begun since 2012 to date [4]. The implementation of these programmes should be studied to see its
significance in achieving sustainability in housing provision. This paper aims to establish an argument
on the significance of the implementation of affordable housing programmes as part of the housing
policy to achieve sustainable housing provision particularly in the aspect of housing affordability. The
definition of housing sustainability in the context of this paper will first be discussed in relation to
intervention by government through implementation of affordable housing programmes. This will be
followed by discussion on the concept of the affordable housing programmes to determine if it complies
with the concept of sustainable housing affordability. Finally, general issues on its implementation will
be identified.

2. Methodology
The state of Johor (127’20”N 10345’40”E) is chosen as the case study as land and in particular matters
on housing provision in Malaysia falls under state government’s jurisdiction. Therefore, housing policy
implementation is under the state’s jurisdiction. Institutional framework differs between states within
Malaysia, hence the decision to carry out the study in Johor Bahru (the capital for the state of Johor) as
it is facing a very competitive and rapid development with development of Iskandar region and is
categorised as a state with “seriously unaffordable” housing [1]. According to the Department of
Statistics Malaysia (2014), Malaysian population are categorised into 3 groups, namely the B40 or
bottom 40% with house monthly household income of below $US 924 (at 31 Oct, 2019, RM3,860),
M40 or middle 40% with monthly household income of between (monthly income between $US 924 -
$US 1992 (RM3,860 – RM8,319) and T20 or top 20% with monthly household income of $US 1992
(or RM8,319) and above. M40 group is chosen, as currently there is an issue in the provision of
affordable housing for this segment of the population. This paper uses a combination of literature and
qualitative study to achieve the said objectives. To identify issues in the implementation of these
programmes and scheme throughout the development process, an in-depth interview 5 with five (5)
respondents who represented the main stakeholders involved with the implementation of the
programmes at state and local government is carried out. These respondents were chosen as they are
the main players involved with the development of affordable housing programmes in Johor. They are
from UPEN HOUSING TASK FORCE who is responsible for the monitoring of the implementation of
affordable and subsidized housing by developer; SUKJ (Perumahan) who oversees the housing policy
implementation and allocation of subsidised housing units; 2 prominent developers who are involved
with major housing development in Johor Bahru and one PRIMA developer in Johor Bahru as one of
the main federal affordable housing programmes implemented in Johor Bahru. A qualitative approach
is carried out with a content analysis of the existing affordable housing programmes particularly for the
M40 group and an in depth interview with main players in affordable housing programme in Johor
Bahru who are involved with affordable housing programmes/schemes to identify current affordable
housing scenario.

2
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

3. Housing and development

3.1 Housing sustainability
The basic definition of sustainability is “development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. However, this is more geared
towards the environmental aspect. In a broader aspect, sustainability would also include social (health
and equity), human values (freedom, tolerance and respect for nature) and ecological (climate, air quality
and land-use efficiency) attributes [5,6,7]. However, the more recent definition of sustainability refers
to the observation of balancing between the three concepts namely economic development, social equity
and environmental protection. [5, 8]. Housing provision could be discussed under the social equity
concept that is much related with the context of affordability. Among other things, social equity
demonstrates the ability of all segments of the population to have access to housing. At the very core of
the issue is income inequality – which has resulted to inaccessibility to affordable housing. Housing
equity especially in prime urban areas can be attributed to the absence or the low rate of homelessness,
housing insecurity and social exclusion. Equity also relates to equal opportunity in access to housing
and this will be reflected as sustainable housing affordability and how the implementation of housing
policy such as the affordable housing programmes could assist the poorer segment of the society to have
access to housing thus increasing the housing sustainability. Whether a nation’s domestic policies
support principles of social equity and social welfare depends greatly on its economic stage and political
environment.
In developing a discussion on housing sustainability, a framework for determining the criteria for
housing sustainability has been developed by Pullen S et al in [9]. The sustainability criteria set consist
of nine essential elements and sub-elements. The essential elements are efficiency (energy, water),
construction (materials, methods), procurement (government, private, and public-private partnership),
affordability (purchase or rent), desirability, dwelling sizes, appropriate density (low, medium, high),
adaptability and social acceptability. This indicates that, sustainable housing affordability should not
only be about the pricing or just about cheap homes but must incorporate other factors [10]. Affordability
is mentioned as one of the essential elements - this demonstrate the importance of affordability in
determining the sustainability of housing and this further correspond with the context of this study that
looks at housing affordability. Said R et al [8] identified these criteria to measure sustainable housing
affordability; they are house price, house type, house finishes, house design, position of the house in
layout plan, size of land area, age of the unit, topography, property interest, near to commercial area,
near to hospitals, near to post office, near to recreation area & public space, near to transportation, near
to education, near to workplace, Environment Quality, Security, Traffic Congestion, Density, View,
Exterior Condition, Availability of Waste Management, Safety Level and Theme or Concept. Findings
indicated that house price as the most significant criteria and followed by social aspect e.g. safety,
proximity to work place and public facilities/amenities and lastly the built environment aspect, such as
the specifications etc.

3.2 Affordable housing

According to demographic international housing affordability survey (2015) the median multiple is a
common metric, suggested by the World Bank and the United Nations which rates affordability of
housing by dividing the median house price by aggregate annual median household income. Median
multiple is used as the common metric to measure affordability to purchase houses. This is done by
dividing the median house price by aggregate annual median household income [1,11]. Housing
affordability is rated on a scale of 0 to 5. The 3.0x median multiple signs that the market delivers a
distribution of housing that are subjected to minimal distortions [12]. Basically, the main indicator for
affordable housing is the price, in relation to the income level. According to Milligan, the idea of
affordable housing recognizes the needs of households whose incomes are not sufficient to allow them
to access appropriate housing in the market without assistance [13]. Therefore, assistance or government

3
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

intervention is significant in assisting these segments of the population. Thus, the term 'affordable
housing' describes housing that assists lower income households in obtaining and paying for appropriate
housing without experiencing undue financial hardship [13]. A house is considered affordable if it costs
less than 30 percent of gross household income [14]. However, this is not often the case in Malaysia if
referring to the median multiple that demonstrate that most prime urban areas in Malaysia like Kuala
Lumpur, Penang and Johor Bahru is facing “ seriously unaffordable” scenario for housing affordability
[1].

3.3 Government intervention

Government intervention in the development process within the domain of planning is significant in
addressing housing equity issues. In the context of housing provision, many scholars stressed the
importance to balance housing market situation. Barker (2004) emphasised the need to “strike a balance”
to achieve among others in the context of housing an adequate and affordable housing for a growing
population; and meeting the aspirations of individuals as to the amount of space, the location and nature
of housing to be provided [15]. Housing market works within the supply and demand concept and when
the supply of lower cost housing falls short, the government has to intervene to ensure equity in access
to housing. State intervention usually takes varied forms. It may come in the form of taxation or
subsidies, direct ownership and/or participation in investment and provision of goods and services, or it
may take the form of administrative/regulatory controls [16]. Housing policy in terms of proposed
affordable housing programs/schemes that include private sector’s participation is a form of intervention
that has been introduced in Malaysian housing scenario.

4. Malaysian housing scenario

4.1 Housing system
Malaysia practiced a mixed economic system that sees government intervention in certain areas in
housing provision in which the main provider for housing is private developer. The system of land use
planning in Malaysia consists of a framework of development plans, which form the basis on which
applications for development are determined. The development plans, which consist of structure and
local plans are prepared by local planning authorities to identify types and locations of land use for
housing development [17]. Housing provision in Malaysia sees the involvement of a three tier
government – the federal (central), the state and the local government. The inter relation of these
governments in the current housing development mechanism are outlined with each government bearing
specific authority. Besides the federal/central government; the state and local government also have
statutory power to formulate certain housing policy and regulations. Although Malaysia has a very
structured housing policy at federal level, implementation of housing is done at state and local
government level which is subject to state government’s policies.

4.2 Housing policy

The evolution of the housing industry in Malaysia is significant since 1971, divided into four phases
namely Housing the Poor (1971-1985), Market reform (1986-1997), Slums Clearance (1998-2011) and
State Affordable Housing (2012-to date) [4]. Among the main highlights in the current National Housing
Policy are to enhance the role of state government agencies, besides federal government agencies and
the private sector to provide affordable houses for the nation. Therefore, the state’s role is crucial as the
delivery of affordable housing mostly materialised at the state level. Within this policy framework,
various agencies have responsibilities and authorities in dealing with housing provision. Among the
recent approaches to address issues on affordable housing is through the introduction of various
affordable housing programme targeted at specific segment of the population (middle-income
population - the M40 group) in prime urban areas [18]. The introduction of these affordable housing
programmes with involvement of private sectors as the main provider is aimed at giving assistance to
this group to get access to housing.

4
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

4.3 Types of affordable housing programme

There are four (4) types of housing programmes/schemes that are going to be discussed in this paper
with the selling price ranging from $US35,895 to $US95,721 (RM150,000 to RM400,000)per unit. This
price range is affordable for M40 group that is facing difficulties to have access to housing. Three (3)
of the programmes are federal initiatives (PRIMA, MyHome and PPAM) [18] and one (1)
programme/scheme is under Johor state housing policy (RMMJ)

4.3.1. Rumah Mampu Milik Johor (RMMJ). Implementation of this housing scheme is embedded in the
Johor housing policy and the allocation is specifically for Johorian and those who reside in Johor for a
certain period of time (at least 5 years) through the requirement imposed to developers. Developers are
to provide affordable housing within area of development that must be sold at stipulated prices,
determined by state government, $US10,050 - $US35,895 ( RM42,000 – RM150,000) per unit. The
development of these units is by developers who are developing housing projects. This is considered as
allocation for the low cost housing with a specific percentage requirement for units at price range for
low medium cost $US10,050 (42,000/unit) and $US19,150 (RM80,000/unit) and medium cost at
$US35,895 (RM150,000/unit). This policy is only implemented in Johor and allocation is under
Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Johor (Perumahan) – SUKJ (Perumahan).

4.3.2 PR1MA. PRIMA (Perumahan Rakyat 1 Malaysia) is an affordable housing initiative introduced
by Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Abd Razak, Malaysia (the then Prime Minister) in the 2012 budget. It was
established under the PRIMA Act 2012, which was passed by parliament on 29 November 2011. The
establishment is to plan, develop, construct and maintain affordable housing for middle-income
households in key urban centres. It is a strategic initiative to provide for affordable housing for
households with a combined income bracket under $US1490 (RM10 500). PRIMA has various
development models that sees public private partnership as the main thrust in developing affordable
housing.

4.3.3 MYHOME SCHEME. This scheme was launched in April 2014 and is to be carried out by private
sector. This scheme requires private developers to apply to the federal government for the scheme to
enable the developer to get incentive of $US7181 (RM30,000) from the government to offset the units’
selling price. Projects should already acquire an approved planning permission. Selection of projects
would depends on whether they adhere to the requirements such as the location ( at strategic, prime city
area) as there is no specific specification but the project should have followed the minimum requirement
by local authority as planning permission has already been obtained. However, the approving unit that
is under Unit MyHome Schemes, Ministry of Housing and Local Government have certain minimum
requirement to ensure the quality of the housing units.

4.3.4 PPAM. PPAM (Perumahan Penjawat Awam Malaysia) scheme is established to assist young civil
servant with medium income level to own quality house that is lower than the market price within a
strategic location (prime urban areas) . These locations should be near their workplace and is within
their affordability level. Civil servants include those working under federal, state, local authority and
federal and state statutory bodies. This is a private sector initiative where houses are provided by
developer (build, financed and sold). Houses are sold to civil servants from the list of buyers provided
by the implementing agency and the coordinating body, which is the unit PPAM, Ministry of Housing
and Local Government.

5. Findings
5.1 Attributes for sustainable housing affordability

5
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

To further discuss the significance of the sustainable housing affordability, a matrix to analyse the ability
of the housing system through the medium of physical development plans and various affordable
housing schemes to plan or control these attributes is formulated (Table 1). Said identified and
established the attributes to measure sustainable housing affordability [8], used here – see Table 1 and
Table 2.

Table 1. Literature on criteria for sustainable housing affordability

CRITERIAS/ATTRIBUTES REFERENCE ABILITY TO
PLAN/CONTROL
ECONOMIC

- Pricing Said R et al(2017 √

- Affordability Pullen S et al., (2010) √

(purchase or rent)
- Procurement Pullen S et al., (2010) √
(government, private,
public-private
partnership)
BUILT ENVIRONMENT

- SPECIFICATION - House Finishes Said R et al(2017) √

- House Design
- Position of the House in Layout
Plan
- Age of the Unit
- TYPES OF HOUSE Said R et al(2017) -

- SIZE OF BUILT UP AREA - dwelling size Pullen S et al., (2010) √

Said R et al(2017)
- SIZE OF LAND AREA Said R et al(2017) -

- TOPOGRPHY Said R et al(2017) -

- DENSITY - appropriate density (low, Pullen S et al., (2010) Under rqmnt

medium, high) In devt control
- ENVIRONMENT QUALITY - Efficiency (energy, water), Pullen S et al., (2010) Under rqmnt
In devt control
- CONSTRUCTION - Materials Pullen S et al., (2010) Under rqmnt
- Methods In devt control
- EXTERIOR CONDITION Said R et al(2017) -

SOCIAL

- LOCATION - Near to commercial areas Said R et al(2017) √

(IN PRIME URBAN AREAS ) - Near to Hospitals
- Near to Post Office
- Near to Recreation Area &
Public Space
- Near to Transportation, Near to
Education
- Near to Workplace
- LOCATION Said R et al(2017) √
(NEAR TO WORK
PLACE)
- AVAILABILITY OF WASTE Said R et al(2017) Under rqmnt
MANAGEMENT In devt control
- SECURITY - Traffic congestion Said R et al(2017) Under rqmnt
- Safety level In devt control
- LOCATION (NEAR TO - Near to Hospitals Said R et al(2017) √
PUBLIC - Near to Post Office
FACILITIES/AMENITIES) - Near to Recreation Area & Public
Space
- Near to Transportation, Near to
Education,
- SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY - Traffic congestion Pullen S et al., (2010) -
- Theme or Concept.

6
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

According to the above matrix, it can be concluded that in the context of housing provision in Malaysia
there are various medium that could control and ensure that sustainable housing affordability could be
achieved. These are through the requirements in the development control procedures; and the
requirements in the specific affordable housing programmes.

5.2 Concept of housing sustainability

The affordable housing programmes discussed earlier is further evaluated against the attributes in Table
2 to determine if it could achieve the sustainable housing affordability. Said identified and established
the attributes to measure sustainable housing affordability which is used in this study [8] (Refer to
attributes in Table 1 and Table 2).

Overall, these programmes are planned to better fulfil the demand for affordable housing among various
segment of population within the M40 groups. These programmes demand involvement from private
sectors (developers). It can be concluded that the main objective of these affordable housing
programmes is to provide affordable housing within prime urban areas. Pricing is controlled within
range slightly lower than current market price through subsidies from federal government. The state
affordable housing programme (RMMJ) is more flexible in terms of its location, as it is developed as a
portion from the total housing development project by the prospective developer.

5.3 Affordable housing programs in Johor

Generally, in terms of providing for the middle income group; the affordable housing programmes seem
to be an ideal solution to bridge the gap between the low income housing and the higher cost. The
housing programmes offer houses within the price range of $US35,895 to $US95,721 (RM150,000 –
RM400,000). In the case of Johor, state affordable housing policy requires developers venturing in
housing development to allocate some percentage for houses within the price range of $US10,050 -
$US35,895 (RM42,000 – RM150,000). The allocation of these units is put under the Setiausaha
Kerajaan Negeri Johor (Perumahan) – SUKJ(Perumahan) jurisdiction to ensure houses are allocated to
the intended segment. All four (4) programmes emphasised on location of the housing, which indicate
that the housing projects should be developed in prime city area. As for the pricing; which is the most
significant criteria in sustainable housing affordability [8]. All four (4) programmes/schemes has their
price range that has been determined to cater for various income segment. These house price is
considered as affordable in prime urban areas especially for the M40 groups.

7
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

Table 2 . Evaluation of sustainable housing affordability in housing programmes

HOUSING RRMJ MY HOME PRIMA PPA1M DISCUSSION
PROGRAM SCHEME

ATTRIBUTES/
CRITERIAS
ECONOMIC <$US35,895 $US35,895 $US35,895 - $US35,895
- $US95,721 -
$US42,584 $US42,584
- PRICING <$US35,895 RM150,000 – RM150,000 – RM150,000 – Pricing depends on
RM 150,000 RM300,00 RM400,000 RM300,000 target group

- PROCUREMENT Private Public private Public private Public private

(allocation by partnership partnership partnership
government)
- AFFORDABILITY <$US994 MYHOME 1 : Combined Not clearly stated Each programme
(eligibility – household income) (RM7,000) (for $US426 household – priority given to have different
units selling at - income first time home target group (from
$US35,895 $US568 $US1490 buyer various income
RM150,000) RM3000 – RM4000 <RM10,000 (government civil bracket)
and MYHOME 2 : servant)
$US568
-
$US852
RM4001 – RM6000

PHYSICAL

- SPECIFICATION According to According to According to According to Specifications may

local authorities MyHome Unit, PRIMA Bhd PPAM Unit, differ among
rqmnt Ministry of Housing & rqmnt Ministry of MyHome/PRIMA/
Local Govt Housing & Local PPAM – objective
Govt to have quality
housing
- SIZE OF BUILT UP According to minimum square foot Specifications may
AREA RMMJ (state’s of the units ; MyHome differ among
policy rqmnt 1 – Minimum 74.32 sq MyHome/PRIMA/
m and MyHome2 – PPAM – objective
Minimum 78.97 sq m to have quality
housing
SOCIAL

- LOCATION (IN √ √ √ Main principle for

PRIME URBAN Is developed MyHome/PRIMA/
AREAS ) based on state’s PPAM
requirement (at programmes/schem
certain es
percentage for
any proposed
development )
- LOCATION (NEAR Depends on √ Main principle for
TO WORK PLACE) proposed devt MyHome/PRIMA/
PPAM
programmes/schem
es
- LOCATION (NEAR √ √ √ Being in prime
TO PUBLIC According to urban areas;
FACILITIES/AMENI local authorities MyHome/PRIMA/
TIES) rqmnt PPAM
programmes/schem
es is mostly near to
public facilities
/amenities

5.4 Implementation of housing programmes/schemes

An in-depth interview to get some perspective on the current affordable housing scenario from several
main players involved with the provision of affordable housing in Johor Bahru, namely ; UPEN,

8
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

HOUSING TASK FORCE, SUK(Perumahan), 2 prominent developers and a PRIMA developer in

Johor Bahru. Various issues were highlighted :
a) Inconsistency in the policy for affordable housing – definition, requirements and implementation:
This is further aggravated by the existence of separate federal and state policy. PRIMA developer
emphasise the issue about inconsistency - quote “There are various definitions and requirements
of affordable housing (according to differing implementing agencies); and we still have to adhere
to state’s requirement although we are doing the federal affordable programmes/schemes”
unquote.
b) Coordination – Bureaucracy and overlapping of jurisdiction
Issues in coordination; especially one that involved discrepancy of federal and state government
policies. Various studies identified coordination among the vertical and horizontal government
agencies as the most crucial area for improvement towards better government delivery services
[19]. One of the challenge claimed by housing developers is the lack of coordination between
local authorities during the stage in getting approval for housing planning permission. [17].
c) Transparency and Clarity in the whole process
UPEN officer clarify that there is no specific procedure or guideline in dealing with
implementation of federal programme at state – quote “We don’t have a specific guideline to
process application (for waiver etc) from developer – especially those implementing federal
affordable housing programmes/schemes (like PRIMA) “ unquote.
d) Developers Ethic – Profit Making Objective
According to a representative from a prominent developer in Johor : Quote “RMMJ is a state
requirement (policy). And we (as developer) is required to provide for a certain percentage of
these houses. Therefore, we will sell other units (in other phases) according to demand and supply
(of the market)” unquote.
Findings from the in depth interview carried out among the main players in Johor affordable housing
provision can be summarised as to what is the main concern of the developers. This proved to be on cost
and issues highlighted reflect delay in the overall development process that leads to increase in cost.
Delay occurs either on the requirement to build state’s affordable housing (RMMJ) and overlapping of
jurisdiction between federal and state government that indicates issues in terms of coordination, clarity
of the development process and bureaucracy. These have affected the efficiency of the development
process that increased either the production cost or period of time taken in the overall development
process. These become a deterrent for private sector’s involvement in carrying out affordable housing
programmes.

6. Conclusion
Affordable housing can be regarded as one of important aspect of sustainability. The ability of all
segments of the population to have access to housing is significant to ensure sustainability within the
social domain – which can be termed as sustainable housing affordability This could either be in the
form of ownership or rental units. In Malaysia, where there exists a prevailing issues in the provision of
affordable housing for medium income population; various efforts have been carried out to address this
issue. Implementation of affordable housing programmes/schemes by private sector is significant in the
context of Malaysia, and the state of Johor in particular as it practices mixed economy system where
housing is very much affected by supply and demand in the housing market. In conclusion, the criterias
of housing programmes and schemes discussed are consistent with previous literature on sustainable
housing affordability. Among the factors emphasised are in terms of location – which requires these
programmes and schemes to be developed in prime city area. This ensures proximity to various public
facilities and infrastructure. Therefore, in terms of the implementing principles and the main criteria of
the discussed, these affordable housing programmes do adhere to the sustainable housing affordability.
However, the nature of Malaysian legislative structure where there are three level of governments –
federal, state and local government posed some conflicts in terms of housing policy implementation as
there is a discrepancy in the requirement for policies between state and federal government and there is
lack of specific Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for federal programmes implemented at state.
These contributes towards delays in the overall development process. Therefore, these factors need to

9
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

be addressed as these affordable housing programmes/scheme has the potential to encourage equal
access to all segment of the population and eventually achieving sustainable housing affordability.

References
[1] Ismail S, Jalil I N and Muzafar P M M 2015 Making Housing Affordable Khazanah Research
Institute available at
http://www.krinstitute.org/assets/contentMS/img/template/editor/_FINAL_Full_Draft__KRI
_-_Making_Housing_Affordable__with_hyperlink__220815%20(1).pdf accessed 19-01-
2020
[2] Doling J, Vandenberg P and Tolentino J 2013 Housing and housing finance - A review of the
links to economic development and poverty reduction ADB Economics Working Paper Series
362 1-34 DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2309099
[3] Agus M R 2002 The Role of State and Market in the Malaysian Housing Sector Journal of
Housing and the Built Environment 17 49-67
[4] Shuid S 2016 The housing provision system in Malaysia Habitat International 54 210–23 DOI:
10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.11.021
[5] Islam N 1996 Sustainability Issues in Urban Housing in a Low-income Country: Bangladesh
Habitat International 20 377-88 DOI: 10.1016/0197-3975(96)00016-1
[6] Kates R W, Parris T M and Leiserowitz A A 2005 What is Sustainable Development? Goals,
Indicators, Values and Practice Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development
47 8-21 DOI: 10.1080/00139157.2005.10524444
[7] Van Vliet W 1996 Sustainable Development, Global Restructuring and Immigrant Housing.
Habitat International 20 349-58 DOI: 10.1016/0197-3975(96)00018-5
[8] Said R, Majid R A, Daud M D, Esha Z and Razali M N 2017 Owner’s Perception Towards
Sustainable Housing Affordability in Kuching, Sarawak Journal of Design and Built
Environment Special Issue 194 – 206 available at
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322253852_Owners'_Perception_towards_Sustaina
ble_Housing_Affordability_in_Kuching_Sarawak accessed 19-01-2020
[9] Szytula A and Leciejewicz J 1999 Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earths vol 26
ed K A Gschneidner Jr and L Erwin (Amsterdam: Elsevier) available at
http://www.fulviofrisone.com/attachments/article/426/Handbook%20on%20the%20Physics
%20and%20Chemistry%20of%20Rare%20Earths%20Volume%2022.pdf accessed 19-01-
2020
[10] Mulliner E and Maliene V 2011 Criteria for sustainable housing affordability Journal of
Environmental Engineering 3 966-973 available at
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266372595_Criteria_for_sustainable_housing_affo
rdability accessed 19-01-2020
[11] Diwa S, Nurshuhada Z, Rahim M, Azli F, Eric L, Karim A and Bari S 2016 Malaysian
Affordability Housing Policies Revisited MATEC web of conferences 66 1–10 DOI:
10.1051/matecconf/20166600010
[12] Reeves P 2014 Affordable and social housing: policy and practice (Abingdon: Routledge)
[13] Milligan V, Gurran N, Lawson J, Phibbs P and Phillips R 2009 Innovation in affordable housing
in Australia: bringing policy and practice for not-for-profit housing organisations together
AHURI Final Report available at
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7298/7dbdc6383d8d13daca933b436d0828ee2712.pdf?_ga=
2.176832165.1095771313.1579436247-1831125353.1576831290 accessed 19-01-2020
[14] Osman M M, Ramlee M A, Samsudin N, Rabe N S, Abdullah M F and Khalid N 2017 Housing
Affordability in the State of Johor Planning Malaysia : Journal of the MALAYSIAN Institute
of Planners 15 347-56 available at
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/397a/54ebf6b04fca543e4c8c6a6263b00346f6ea.pdf?_ga=2.
80949911.1095771313.1579436247-1831125353.1576831290 accessed 19-01-2020
[15] Barker K 2004 Review of Housing Supply HMSO Her Majesty´s Stationery Office DOI:
10.1037/015276

10
ICoPS2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 447 (2020) 012025 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/447/1/012025

[16] Musole M 2009 Property rights, transaction costs and institutional change: Conceptual framework
and literature review Progress in Planning 71 43–85 DOI: 10.1016/j.progress.2008.09.002
[17] Yakob H, Yusof F and Hamdan H 2013 Sustainable Urban Housing Development through
Planning Mechanism: Issues and Challenges APNHR Conference 2013, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 20-22 August 2013 available at
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263506747_Sustainable_Urban_Housing_Develop
ment_through_Planning_Mechanism_Issues_and_Challenges accessed 19-01-2020
[18] Cagamas Holdings Berhad 2013 Housing the Nation: Policies, Issues and Prospects [online]
available at
https://www.cagamas.com.my/sites/default/files/publications/Housing%20the%20Nation%2
0-%20Policies%2C%20Issues%20and%20Prospects.pdf accessed 19-01-2020
[19] Sufian A and Ibrahim A 2011 Equitable distribution of low-cost houses in Malaysia: Constraints
and challenges International Journal of Economics and Management 5 251–65 available at
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289920689_Equitable_distribution_of_low-
cost_houses_A_Malaysian_legal_perspective accessed 19-01-2020

11