YOURSAY | Urban renewal: It's all about upgrade and maintenance

YOURSAY | ‘Fix core problem first before turning golf courses into housing.’

COMMENT | Turn golf courses into rakyat housing?

Anon25: KGPA (a sprawling 27-hole Civil Service Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur) is the late Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid’s “crazy idea”. Ahmad Sarji was a prominent Public Service administrator.

He convinced the then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that a government golf course would permanently buy the loyalty of the civil service.

The civil service, however, proved to be unreliable. KGPA is a place where they are said to have wasted their time.

Yes, it may be better to close down KGPA and use that land for public housing, as suggested by columnist Andrew Sia. It is more effective to use some of that money saved to repair and improve police and army barracks.

Violet Ocra 0545: I disagree. I do not see how converting golf courses to public housing can solve the problem at hand, neither does tearing down perfectly fine houses. The current problem with low-cost flats is maintenance.

With so many leakages in our government agencies, even if the government takes up the responsibility of building maintenance, the existing problem would not be resolved.

There is a possibility that allocated funds may just end up in the wrong pockets. So, fix the core of the problem first (before turning golf courses into public housing), which is leakages.

Commenting has been disabled for the story: Converting a golf course into a housing area is not as easy as you think.

There are a lot of challenges from zoning laws to the suitability of the soil, building access roads, proper traffic flow, and impact on surrounding areas.

In the end, the golf course will be replaced with condominiums and shopping malls.

Look at the golf course you are proposing to replace, KGPA, which is in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

Any condos or housing built on KGPA will be subjected to market prices in that area, Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Do you think ordinary folks can afford to buy there?

The amount of work and cost to convert a golf course into a residential area is huge. Do you think the developer will do all that just to build low-cost flats?

You will just end up replacing an elites' golf course with elites' housing and maybe some shopping mall that no one goes to. So, the suggestion is nonsensical.

Urban renewal is not about replacing golf courses with houses, nor is it about replacing flats with condos. It is about renewing the existing, affordable housing and improving the quality of life for the residents there.

What about dilapidated flats? Here's a shocking idea, please fix them.

Hmmm: I agree with @Violet Ocra 0545. We need a lot of green spaces for healthy living even if those green areas are golf courses.

We also do not want to pack too many people in one area. Better to spread them around to not cause traffic congestion.

Does our government build any affordable flats for rent? If not, they should consider doing that to rent out to the B40 (the lowest income earners in Malaysia) at subsidised rates.

Udin Togel: I suggest we turn all abandoned land lots in Petaling Jaya, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur into houses or apartments, or something that can generate the economy.

All these places have facilities like schools or hospitals which are readily available.

It is better to develop more inside the city and create policies where no abandoned spaces, (which exist for more than a certain period) are allowed inside city centres.

When that certain period is bridged, the government can take over and develop the area.

Nato Regime: First, there are so many government places that can connect the city well. Why ask for golf courses to be turned over? We have enough buildings nearby, which makes the city look like a big space garden.

Secondly, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming should not sell RM300,000 flats for RM60,000.

It is crazy to win votes that way, the declining value of our ringgit and the standard of living have increased so much, that selling these flats at RM100,000 would be a good starting point.

Realkeluargamalaysia: The writer's suggestion is merely a populist one that was thought up in a shallow and simplistic or maybe even naive manner.

I agree that fixing the existing flats is the most practical solution. Keeping it well maintained and collecting maintenance fees is another problem altogether. That cuts across all high-density residential projects, elitist or not.

RedGecko6275: If the government cares for the rakyat, they will turn areas connected by Mass Transit Lines (MRTs) into affordable housing areas instead of chopping up the land for developers.

If they really care for the rakyat, they will build affordable housing themselves with proper data control instead of asking the developer to build them.

When developers build affordable housing at a loss, it is a cross-subsidy from the free-priced property. This is one of the many reasons why property prices are high.

If the government really care for the rakyat, they will make sure affordable housing is only for those in need.

There are many buyers of affordable housing gaming the loophole and making money out of it. For example, these buyers are buying and selling affordable housing units repeatedly for a profit.

If they really care for the rakyat, they will upgrade and maintain parks and walkways. They will make sure walkways are uninterrupted and public buses are widely available.

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