Ministry Of Housing And Local Government Strives For Community Wellbeing

MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Strives For Community Wellbeing

Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) is one of KPKT’s initiatives in providing affordable housing for the people.

Entrepreneurial activities through PEKB are expected to help generate income and improve the living standards of the community. Community wellbeing can be defined as the condition of a community that is safe, peaceful, prosperous and safe from all forms of disorder, threat or discomfort. The issue of housing is one such disruption that the Malaysian Ministry of Housing and Local Government strives to address and prioritise. After all, having a comfortable home is essential to secure the community members’ wellbeing.

The ministry is always committed to implement various initiatives for the welfare of the people, in line with the desire to make wellbeing universal through the development of liveable housing projects, sustainable municipal services and fire protection system, which are all essential in improving people’s quality of life.

Moreover, the ministry – through the National Housing Department – plays a crucial role in ensuring that the development of a perfect, high quality and more systematic housing sector can be enjoyed by the people of various income levels. The People Housing Program (PPR), Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR) and Housing for Civil Servants (PPAM) are among the projects aimed at boosting Malaysia’s affordable housing agenda and hence, fostering stability and security within the community. Through the ministry, the government has drawn up a plan of ‘One Million Affordable Homes’ within ten years (2018-2028) that is carried out by the federal government agencies, the state governments, and the private sector, especially for the benefit of families who are classified as part of the bottom 40% (B40) and middle 40% (M40) income ranges.

The urban residents who fall under the domain of local authorities (Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan / PBT) are offered assistance when facing economic challenges. Currently, the programme called ‘Program Azam Bandar’ (‘Urban Resolve Programme’) is given a new lease of life and rebranded as ‘Pemerkasaan Ekonomi Komuniti Bandar’ or PKEB (‘Urban Community Economic Empowerment’) to further promote entrepreneurship and commerce among the B40 group as the means to resolve the issue of unemployment, besides serving as a platform to drive the economy and generate income for the affected groups through the provision of targeted entrepreneurship training.

In 2021, after obtaining additional budget, the PKEB programme is expanded to encourage the participation of urban youth in entrepreneurship projects.

• Inculcating Hygiene

The goal for the nation’s socioeconomic development can only be achieved if the health of the people is guaranteed, families remain stable and the society lives in harmony. To achieve these attributes, cleanliness and care should be made priority and cannot be ignored.

The active implementation of ‘Dasar Kebersihan Negara’ (‘National Cleanliness Policy’) carried out by the ministry is one of the government’s initiatives to make Malaysia cleaner and create a society that demonstrates good hygiene practices and uphold environmental sustainability. Various campaigns such as ‘3R’(‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’), ‘Let’s Do It Right’, ‘Trash to Cash’, ‘Waste to Art’, ‘Value Food No Waste Awareness’, the Free Market, ‘Berani Tegur’ (‘Dare to Reprimand’), ‘Say No to Plastics’, ‘Solid Waste Separation’ in residential, commercial, industrial and institutional areas are just some examples that the government has done to educate the public.

Through efficient and comprehensive law enforcement by the PBT, effective environmental hygiene practices can be implemented by every member of the community. Such commitment does not only incentivise Malaysians to improve their hygiene, but also generate more economic opportunities. For example, through the efficient use of waste disposal, the recycling industry has great potential to be tapped as a new resource that can stimulate the circular economy among industry players.

• Solid Waste Management

“We want Malaysians to cultivate a culture of garbage segregation and they should know that garbage is money. If this continues, there will be a sense of responsibility in them to always segregate and recycle,” stated the Minister of Housing and Local Government of Malaysia The Honourable Zuraida binti Kamaruddin.

Population growth, rising socioeconomic status, rapid economic growth and increasingly modern lifestyle changes contribute to the challenges in maintaining a clean environment in the country. A poorly managed environment results in the spread of vector-borne infectious diseases that disrupt the wellbeing of mankind.

Therefore, the ministry – through the State Solid Waste Management Department (JPSPN) and related agencies in issues involving to solid waste management public cleaning system – continues to intensify its activities and awareness programmes among the community by strengthening the ‘Solid Waste Separation at the Source’ and 3R campaigns, including encouraging recycling at the community level and educational institutions. In addition, the use of cost-effective and environmental-friendly technology helps the government in keeping the environment safe and clean.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the Movement Conditional Order (MCO) have impacted the environment due to the increase of domestic waste considering companies and their customers these days respectively use and discard more packaging. As such, the ‘Zero Waste Community Initiative Program’ (ZeComm) organised by the ministry through SWCorp seeks to guide the community on the importance of segregating solid waste like food waste and treating solid waste appropriately through different approaches – one of them is by giving reward – so that the programme continues to be relevant and accepted by the community.

The implementation of ZeComm has positively impacted in changing the community’s attitudes towards reducing solid waste. People begin to segregate solid waste and treat food waste accordingly, consequently enjoying the rewards from that practice. The amount of solid waste sent to landfills can be greatly reduced when people understand that the waste is more valuable if it were sent to the ZeComm centre instead. Indirectly, systematic solid waste segregation can reduce foul odours from food waste and create a cleaner home environment.

The 3R, Let’s Do It Right and Trash to Cash campaigns raise awareness of recycling among the community.

The continuous support from the community is crucial for sustainable environment.

For more information on the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, visit https://www.kpkt.gov.my/.