APRIL 1 — The second phase of the Movement Control Order (MCO)is expected to put further pressure on the already financially distressed urban poor– those with the lowest paying jobs and the fewest financial resources, coupled with living in high-density areas and overcrowded flats which increases the risk of infections.
Today, more than 70,000 households stay in Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) nationwide, with at least 30,000 living in Kuala Lumpur alone. This opinion piece highlights the possible challenges that these households may face during these trying times and how government solutions should be beyond short-term monetary injections.
We expect the households will face three major issues which are – money, food and living conditions. The data is the results of our survey on PPR in urban areas.
1. MONEY – Adverse impact on their income and financial security
The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) has warned that the MCO extension will result in some 2.4 million people losing their jobs, where 67% of the layoffs will be unskilled workers. We expect that many workers living in the PPRs will be affected due to their low educational attainment (our study shows that about 59% of the head of households attained education up to secondary level) and thus are limited to low-skilled type of work. In fact, we found that 3.8% of the head of PPR households are temporary or part-time workers, making them further dispensable in light of the current economic uncertainty.
Approximately 20% of households in PPRs are self-employed and/or earn income through small businesses, while a considerable proportion of them work in informal employment such as petty traders and freelancers. These jobs largely require their physical presence and cannot be performed remotely. The outbreak has now led to businesses having to either scale back or close shop and informal workers are unable to work, putting further financial strain on the affected households.
2. FOOD – Food security and cost of food
KRI’s The State of Households 2018 report estimated that in 2016, households with income below RM2,000 per month spent 94.8% of their income on consumption items. After accounting for consumption and inflation, their estimated remaining income is only RM76. This raise concerns on whether families in PPRs have enough savings to withstand this MCO period. For better-off families, it is easier to comply with the MCO because they can buy sufficient supplies for their households to last a few days, if not weeks. However, that may not be an option for families in the PPRs that lack the financial means to do so. Consequently, they would have to make more frequent trips to the supermarkets, ultimately putting them at a higher risk of contracting the virus.
The operation of informal markets such as night markets (pasar malam) and farmers’ markets (pasar tani) has been strictly prohibited to minimise the risk of Covid-19 transmission. However, one unintended consequence that might arise from this prohibition is families being cut-off from affordable food supplies. We found that low-income households in the PPRs are highly dependent on these informal markets to access cheap food and goods (e.g. fresh produce, household goods, clothes) despite living near large retail stores. In other words, due to the MCO, their options are now limited to the local kedai runcit operating in their complexes—which may not be able to keep up with the sudden increase in demand—or nearby supermarkets with products may cost them more than their normal budget.
3. LIVING CONDITIONS – Poor infrastructure exacerbating the problem
Poor housing environments paired with overcrowding conditions are commonly associated with higher rates of diseases. A study by Neiderud (2015) has discussed in detail how risk factors in the urban environment (i.e. poor sanitation, waste management, inadequate ventilation) contribute to vector proliferation and spread of diseases. Our own observation found that sanitation (or the lack of it) is a significant problem in some of these PPRs.
Furthermore, high-density infrastructures (which are common for PPRs in urban areas) increase the probability of transmission simply because of the sheer magnitude of people confined within that area, thus increasing the likelihood of close contact. Similarly, residents are also limited to using the same common facilities (such as lifts) which puts them further at risk.
Finally, we worry that the isolation period will have a detrimental impact on the mental and physical health of the residents from being confined in a small space for a long period. Indeed, we estimated that about 14% of PPR households live in overcrowded conditions (more than 2 persons per bedroom).
Measures that will help, not hurt
While the MCO is necessary to curb the spread of Covid-19, the real implications to these vulnerable households cannot be ignored. We laud the government’s efforts to alleviate some of the financial pressures faced by families in PPRs such as cash transfers to the B40 group and the six-months rental exemption for some 3,636 PPR households.
Nevertheless, more inclusive and comprehensive measures need to be considered. While most of the recent discourse has been on placing money in the hands of these families, it is equally important to address the concern on food security and access to affordable food, as well as the present living conditions. The MCO extension would cause these households to be worse-off if prompt actions are not being taken.
We believe the government would benefit from soliciting the input of PPR residents as to what measures would most benefit them. PPR resident association and community leaders could provide input to their local representatives for state government consideration regarding stimulus and benefits packages.
A longer version of this article is available on Khazanah Research Institute’s website – http://www.krinstitute.org/ titled “The Impact of Covid-19 on the Urban Poor: Three Major Threats – Money, Food and Living Conditions”.
*Authors Puteri Marjan Megat Muzafar and Theebalakshmi Kunasekaran are research associates at Khazanah Research Institute (KRI).
** This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
