Malaysia

Context at a glance

The Donald family outside their old house in Malaysia

Tropical, resource-rich Malaysia is a nation of two geographic regions. Peninsular Malaysia boasts large cities, and an active agricultural, industrial and service economy. Across the South China Sea lies East Malaysia, which is spread along much of the northern coast of the giant tropical island of Borneo, a land of forests and plantations.

The federal government and state governments support public housing schemes in urban areas yet many families are not reached through these programmes. Affordability is an issue. Land and housing costs are often too high for the 6.2% of the population who live below the poverty line. Families find themselves living in squatter communities in larger cities. In the countryside, there is less formal help for families living in poverty housing.

Habitat for Humanity programme

Habitat for Humanity Malaysia therefore focuses its work on helping meet the needs of low-income families in rural areas. In rural Sarawak, for example, nearly one third of Habitat's target group consists of families with insufficient income to build on their own land or who are unable to afford other housing programmes.

HFH Malaysia built its first house in 1999 in Kuching, Sarawak. There are affiliates in Kuching (1999), Kuala Lumpur (2003) and Kota Kinabalu (2004). Discussions are under way with community leaders to establish affiliates in Penang, Melaka, Miri and Kuantan.

HFH Malaysia works in both semi-urban and rural areas, building and renovating houses. It also seeks community partnerships to obtain land for needy families. Habitat affiliates use various construction methods - raised floor construction with timber, concrete slab construction with hollow blocks, and modular house construction with polystyrene panels. The average house size ranges from 50 sq. m. up to nearly 60 sq. m. Homeowners typically repay their no-interest, no-profit mortgage over ten years at an average of £14 a month. In most cases, this is lower than the rents they paid prior to becoming Habitat homepartners.

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