Challenges of Community Living
For years, housing developers of gated and guarded housing schemes have waited for the legal conundrum regarding issues on titles and management and maintenance of such schemes to be quickly resolved. So, it was certainly good news for the housing industry to hear that the proposed amendments to the Strata Titles Act 1985 had finally been approved by Cabinet and are due to be tabled in Parliament. For this, REHDA wishes to express our gratitude to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Dato’ Azmi Khalid, for his expeditious and proactive efforts in bringing the proposals across to Cabinet.
With the alarming rise in neighbourhood crimes, gated and guarded housing schemes have become much sought after by house buyers. Unfortunately, under current legislation, provision for the creation of landed or horizontal strata-titled housing schemes has been subject to different interpretations, with the latest twist being a directive from the Federal Land Office (KPTG) to say that gated and guarded landed schemes will not be approved. This, of course, threw a pall on ongoing approved gated and guarded schemes that were works in progress. Thus, homebuyers and housing developers were much relieved when the proposed amendments were approved by the Cabinet.
Curiously enough, some quarters have expressed opposing views denigrating the virtues of the gated and guarded housing concept, claiming that this would only promote the segregation of communities according to economic status. They view these schemes as exclusive enclaves meant for the wealthy and fear that it may lead to marginalization of communities from the less privileged in society. Whilst such caring spirit is highly laudable, the integration or segregation of communities lies in more fundamental socio-economic principles of wealth distribution and policies for equitable allocation of resources.
We must not confuse cause with outcome. The underlying cause of segregation is not so much rooted in physical location as it is in economic disparity. Given the reality of increasing crime rates in urban communities, the demand for additional protection against physical harm in the built environment is understandable. Gated and guarded housing enclaves provide that for the residents who live within their boundaries, but how different is this from residents who stay in gated and guarded condominiums and apartments? Perhaps, when gated and guarded landed housing enclaves become as commonplace as condominiums and apartments, accusations of exclusivity and segregation will wane.
Give gates and guards a chance.