HAVING gone through the GP022 document drawn up by the Federal Town and Country Planning Department under the Housing and Local Government Ministry and run through its guidelines, and taken a legislative look at what the local law and its Acts state, we now look at the social and emotional implications of guarded communities. One asks then, if this is a privilege or a necessity?
Are we buying safety or exclusivity? And how will this impact society down the road?Western view
A dissertation was written by Keith Veal, a political science student at the University of Michigan, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. In it, he cited his experience, having walked into a G&G residential area where the guard was no where to be found, and how he was rudely questioned and shown the way out, when his entry was discovered.
Hostile, sharp, accusatory and unpleasant words were uttered by the "security" personnel, almost instantly putting Veal in defence mode. Haven't many of us encountered similar experiences?
This sparked many questions, of which Veal decided to ask those living outside the boundaries of the G&G area, their views on gated communities.
On social and emotional implications, it really boils down to which side of the "gate" you're on inside or out.
Here are some facts Veal learnt:
» Gated communities – overall – do not have lower crime rates compared to similar communities without gates (Blakely and Snyder, 1997).
Gated communities do not tend to have higher resale values in the market when compared to similar housing. In some cases they even had a slight price disadvantage (Ibid).
Gated communities do not have higher levels of community or being "close-knit" (Low, 2001).
No doubt, G&G areas restrict access, limit interactions and divide communities. Veal also mentioned that if G&G areas focus on safety, then those on the outside become the "amorphous other … not limited to solely criminals and potential law-breakers …"
And when G&G areas are occupied by the "upper class," Veal considers those "gated-out" as "different from the upper class – socially, economically and politically."
Beginning of G&G
Preferring to remain anonymous, a reader (and "provider of security for 10s of housing estate committees in Klang Valley") emailed his views on how G&G first started.
He says: "Some 15 years ago, there was a need to form some sort of security scheme as crime, house break-ins and snatch theft was on the rise.
We called this scheme 'homeguards' which was basically patrolling without requiring any fencing or boom-gates.
The monthly fee was cheap. However, this did not deter the ruthless and crafty criminals … and the police could not do anything but say to the public: 'Itu biasa dah'."
He adds that this led to complaints that reached the ears of the many politicians who were further enraged when "bad reports" from the media put them in tight spots and the government was not much help.
"It was the local councilors and politicians that came up with the many suggestions and ideas to close up roads and place guards from private security companies in hotspot crime areas.
It all worked well until law suits followed (referring to the case where the fire engine could not get to a location in time, blaming the key to the locked boom gate was not accessible, and a person's life was lost)."
He also names a couple of housing areas where the developer's or property management company has put up notices claiming no liability if motorists get their vehicles damaged by the boom gates.
"Crime rates still rose in the subsequent years which led to the residents associations deciding to take matters into their own hands – hence (to keep costs low/affordable), foreign 'guards' were employed."
Citing many reports including the Berkeley Gardens case in Klang, go-downs in Banting and Sungai Buloh area and such, which led to the rakyat losing trust in our police force and the authorities, he states, "All this mooted the idea of proper security-guarded enclaves."
The reader also says that there are laws governing G&G housing estates where the developers have applied for this status (with one main entrance and exit, with a proper guardhouse and boom gates) which has been approved by the authorities.
"Maintenance fees are high and a joint management board is engaged to run the day-to-day activities. It is similar to an up-market condo, with all the rules and extras where one has to pay to keep the premises clean and orderly."
His point: "The government needs to step in to make every district safe via the police force or some security arrangement. Citizens should not need to pay additional amounts for the security of their homes and families.
The people also should not have to worry and leave their homes and families to 'work out' the security and safety issues of their neighbourhood. The law must be followed through – police must carry out their responsibilities accordingly and law breakers must be punished."
He also condones whipping in public as punishment and asks for more CCTVs. "And G&G must be government-controlled."
Others' perspective
theSun considered the views of the rakyat where gated communities and social segregation is concerned. Says Y S Ying, a retiree who lives in a condominium: "I don't believe in gated communities.
Why does the work of the police, who are entrusted to restore peace and safety, need to be done by others, and the people have to pay for safety? Besides, even with G&G areas, there still are thefts, break-ins and such.
In addition, I know many residents who do not like to be asked so many personal questions and have to leave their personal details with guards, especially when at times they are in a hurry.
Friends also prefer not to visit due to this inconvenience." On it spurring social segregation, Sandra doesn't think it does. "Generally, there is a perceived notion that gated communities are better neighbourhoods with real estate that fetches better resale value."
Sharon Saw comments: "It is a sad reflection of society that we need gated communities to improve security. Personally, I do not like gated residential areas as it causes a lot of inconvenience when visiting people living in that area – you need to present your IC and wait for the registration process, etc.
Says Jenn Salim: "Gated communities serve no purpose unless the full and complete process of identification/registration is adhered to and monitored properly. On the residents, whether gated or not, it is one's attitude that causes segregation in the community."
One who wishes to be known as Anak Malaysia states: "It will surely lead to some social impact and create a more prominent gap between the communities on both sides of the boom gate who will look at each other differently."
Anak Malaysia reminisces the days of Rukun Tetangga where the rakyat were seen "bergotong-royong, tolong menolong satu sama lain", in unity.
"Society has changed today … and if the government does not do what it is supposed to do, the rakyat will need to be self reliant and take things into their own hands. We can forget about 1Malaysia then."
Excerpts from
theSun daily
24 APR 2015 / 16:45 H.
****************
The Star
Sunday, 07 Jun 2015
7:48 AM MYT
By DZOF AZMI
It looks like the guarded community in my area will soon expand to include my house. Some of the more enterprising neighbours have been collecting signatures for the last few weeks, and I just received a text message saying that they are going to start blocking up roads soon.
I fully support their efforts to make the neighbourhood more secure and when I first heard about it, I suggested we should collect statistics to show that crime had dropped after the gates went up.
I asked how many break-ins we had this month so far without a gated community in place. The answer? None. A few weeks later, somebody was robbed, but it happened in a house in the guarded zone.
Understand that this isn’t a case of local thugs disguised as security, as reported in the papers recently, although I never discount the idea that an individual guard might be in the pay. It’s just that for some reason, crime in our area, for the time being, seems to be low and incidents are a one-off, rather than repeat offenders.
Even if we were in a tough period, it seems that having a guarded community does not necessarily mean a significant reduction in crime. An Australian researcher, in his paper on guarded communities, wrote that “Despite their additional security features and their ability to exclude non-resident ‘intruders’, crime within the community may not be reduced or eliminated”. One reason could be because much of the crime conducted in a neighbourhood is done by people familiar with the area – people who live there, or regular visitors such as cleaners, contractors or gardeners.
What does rise is perceived security. It’s possibly confirmatory bias that makes sure you must be secure since you’re paying so much money for it.
Perhaps the solution will be gated and monitored communities, with the help of CCTVs. But as I mentioned in a previous article (“Monitor wizards”, Feb 2, 2014), their usefulness as evidence is questionable (pictures are not sharp enough), and their effectiveness as a deterent is short-lived (criminals learn how to work around it).
There are other issues in forming guarded communities. Town planners worry about exclusion zones that don’t allow communities to mix. As it is, I already have neighbours that bemoan the foreign students that come and play football in the field near my house. Rather than an opportunity to create diversity in the community, they are seen as dangerous strangers who make use of “our” public field.
They might believe a guard and a gate will put a stop to that. But in fact, as a recent court case demonstrated, a gated community that has been approved by the city council can block the roads, but road users who want to enter must be allowed passage. A public road can be used by any member of the public.
So if a guarded community might not reduce crime or keep undesirables out, what good is it then?
Perhaps it is the journey and not the destination. This attempt at a guarded community in my area has brought together residents regularly to discuss the initiative. As a result, they have gotten to know each other better, which can only be good all around.
In fact, one of the best ways to fight crime is to know your area and neighbours and understand what the hot spots are. To that end, the weekly community meeting with the local police goes a long way.
We are now alerted if any group tries to use our area as a hunting ground, and understand their modus operandi so as to counter it. We share information about strangers in the area and whether we should be on the lookout for them.
But don’t just take my word for it. Research from Australia, the US and Turkey also agree that improved community relationships is one of the benefits of gated communities. Because they feel safe, people are more comfortable coming out of their house and talk to their neighbours. Of course, your neighbour could still be a psychopathic maniac, but the point is you may get to know he is one before he does anything truly terrible.
We are managing to bond only because we have a common issue to address. I can’t help but wonder whether other formal gated communities gain this benefit of closer cooperation, especially those where people don’t walk out of the house to a local park or playground. I have no data to back this up, but I think some communities are better than others at fostering relationships.
Why is this important? Because the better we understand someone we think is different – be it by race or religion or income level – the more likely we are to realise we’re not so different after all.
Transform communities who stand apart because our neighbours are not “like us” into havens where we stand together and everyone can say, “Yes, they like us”.
Logic is the antithesis of emotion but mathematician-turned-scriptwriter Dzof Azmi’s theory is that people need both to make sense of life’s vagaries and contradictions. Speak to him at star2@thestar.com.my.
TAGS / KEYWORDS:
Is It Better To Live In A Gated Community?
Sunday, 07 Jun 2015
7:48 AM MYT
By DZOF AZMI
It looks like the guarded community in my area will soon expand to include my house. Some of the more enterprising neighbours have been collecting signatures for the last few weeks, and I just received a text message saying that they are going to start blocking up roads soon.
I fully support their efforts to make the neighbourhood more secure and when I first heard about it, I suggested we should collect statistics to show that crime had dropped after the gates went up.
I asked how many break-ins we had this month so far without a gated community in place. The answer? None. A few weeks later, somebody was robbed, but it happened in a house in the guarded zone.
Understand that this isn’t a case of local thugs disguised as security, as reported in the papers recently, although I never discount the idea that an individual guard might be in the pay. It’s just that for some reason, crime in our area, for the time being, seems to be low and incidents are a one-off, rather than repeat offenders.
Even if we were in a tough period, it seems that having a guarded community does not necessarily mean a significant reduction in crime. An Australian researcher, in his paper on guarded communities, wrote that “Despite their additional security features and their ability to exclude non-resident ‘intruders’, crime within the community may not be reduced or eliminated”. One reason could be because much of the crime conducted in a neighbourhood is done by people familiar with the area – people who live there, or regular visitors such as cleaners, contractors or gardeners.
What does rise is perceived security. It’s possibly confirmatory bias that makes sure you must be secure since you’re paying so much money for it.
Perhaps the solution will be gated and monitored communities, with the help of CCTVs. But as I mentioned in a previous article (“Monitor wizards”, Feb 2, 2014), their usefulness as evidence is questionable (pictures are not sharp enough), and their effectiveness as a deterent is short-lived (criminals learn how to work around it).
There are other issues in forming guarded communities. Town planners worry about exclusion zones that don’t allow communities to mix. As it is, I already have neighbours that bemoan the foreign students that come and play football in the field near my house. Rather than an opportunity to create diversity in the community, they are seen as dangerous strangers who make use of “our” public field.
They might believe a guard and a gate will put a stop to that. But in fact, as a recent court case demonstrated, a gated community that has been approved by the city council can block the roads, but road users who want to enter must be allowed passage. A public road can be used by any member of the public.
So if a guarded community might not reduce crime or keep undesirables out, what good is it then?
Perhaps it is the journey and not the destination. This attempt at a guarded community in my area has brought together residents regularly to discuss the initiative. As a result, they have gotten to know each other better, which can only be good all around.
In fact, one of the best ways to fight crime is to know your area and neighbours and understand what the hot spots are. To that end, the weekly community meeting with the local police goes a long way.
We are now alerted if any group tries to use our area as a hunting ground, and understand their modus operandi so as to counter it. We share information about strangers in the area and whether we should be on the lookout for them.
But don’t just take my word for it. Research from Australia, the US and Turkey also agree that improved community relationships is one of the benefits of gated communities. Because they feel safe, people are more comfortable coming out of their house and talk to their neighbours. Of course, your neighbour could still be a psychopathic maniac, but the point is you may get to know he is one before he does anything truly terrible.
We are managing to bond only because we have a common issue to address. I can’t help but wonder whether other formal gated communities gain this benefit of closer cooperation, especially those where people don’t walk out of the house to a local park or playground. I have no data to back this up, but I think some communities are better than others at fostering relationships.
Why is this important? Because the better we understand someone we think is different – be it by race or religion or income level – the more likely we are to realise we’re not so different after all.
Transform communities who stand apart because our neighbours are not “like us” into havens where we stand together and everyone can say, “Yes, they like us”.
Logic is the antithesis of emotion but mathematician-turned-scriptwriter Dzof Azmi’s theory is that people need both to make sense of life’s vagaries and contradictions. Speak to him at star2@thestar.com.my.
TAGS / KEYWORDS:
Is It Better To Live In A Gated Community?
**********************
The Star
Thursday, 10 May 2007
12:00 AM MYT
Living in a gated community is not entirely trouble-free as residents in such places have to bear with a major problem such as getting the local authorities to provide services such as garbage collection, clearing drains and covering potholes.
As ratepayers, the residents are entitled to such services.
However, the physical barrier put up at the guarded and gated community makes it difficult for the local authorities to render such services.
“We know the local authority is supposed to provide us with the services but then when we contacted them, they say they could not come in. They said we should do away with the security guard and barrier at our main entrance. But then again, if we remove the guards and the gates what is the point of calling it a gated community,” said Janet Leong who has been residing in one of the oldest gated community in Shah Alam.
Leong, who wished not to reveal the location of her house, claimed that they have been facing the problem for several years.
She said her residents association had been arguing with the local authority and their management company for quite sometime on the issue.
Such problems are quite common, said Selangor Housing and Real Property Board executive director Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad.
She said usually residents or housebuyers were the ones at the losing end.
“Previously there were no clear guidelines for the developers to follow, leaving many grey areas which at the end leads to problems,” she said during a talk on the Implementation of Gated Community Development in Selangor held at Carlton Holiday Hotel and Suites, Shah Alam recently.
The problems include the public’s right to access a gated area without screening, legal rights of management corporations to the common areas and service charge collection.
Alinah said the access roads to the residential development were usually blocked to allow access to residents only.
“However, these blocked access roads do not belong to the residents living in such housing schemes,” she said, adding that once the developer applied for the titles for the individual homes in the area, the access roads had to be handed over to the local authority.
“The problem will arise when the application is made for individual titles for the houses in the area as the title was released without the access roads and other common areas being handed over to the local council. That means the local authority cannot go in and maintain the road and provide service to the residents,” she said.
Selangor state housing committee chairman Datuk Mokhtar Dahlan said the implementation of the new guidelines on gated communities would ensure that residents get their services from the local authority without sacrificing the security and safety they wanted.
“The state government hopes the guidelines will cover the grey areas and provide common solutions to problems faced by local authorites, developers and residents or housebuyers,” he added.
Thursday, 10 May 2007
12:00 AM MYT
Living in a gated community is not entirely trouble-free as residents in such places have to bear with a major problem such as getting the local authorities to provide services such as garbage collection, clearing drains and covering potholes.
As ratepayers, the residents are entitled to such services.
However, the physical barrier put up at the guarded and gated community makes it difficult for the local authorities to render such services.
“We know the local authority is supposed to provide us with the services but then when we contacted them, they say they could not come in. They said we should do away with the security guard and barrier at our main entrance. But then again, if we remove the guards and the gates what is the point of calling it a gated community,” said Janet Leong who has been residing in one of the oldest gated community in Shah Alam.
Leong, who wished not to reveal the location of her house, claimed that they have been facing the problem for several years.
She said her residents association had been arguing with the local authority and their management company for quite sometime on the issue.
Such problems are quite common, said Selangor Housing and Real Property Board executive director Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad.
She said usually residents or housebuyers were the ones at the losing end.
“Previously there were no clear guidelines for the developers to follow, leaving many grey areas which at the end leads to problems,” she said during a talk on the Implementation of Gated Community Development in Selangor held at Carlton Holiday Hotel and Suites, Shah Alam recently.
The problems include the public’s right to access a gated area without screening, legal rights of management corporations to the common areas and service charge collection.
Alinah said the access roads to the residential development were usually blocked to allow access to residents only.
“However, these blocked access roads do not belong to the residents living in such housing schemes,” she said, adding that once the developer applied for the titles for the individual homes in the area, the access roads had to be handed over to the local authority.
“The problem will arise when the application is made for individual titles for the houses in the area as the title was released without the access roads and other common areas being handed over to the local council. That means the local authority cannot go in and maintain the road and provide service to the residents,” she said.
Selangor state housing committee chairman Datuk Mokhtar Dahlan said the implementation of the new guidelines on gated communities would ensure that residents get their services from the local authority without sacrificing the security and safety they wanted.
“The state government hopes the guidelines will cover the grey areas and provide common solutions to problems faced by local authorites, developers and residents or housebuyers,” he added.
*******************
Wong Joseph
April 26, 2013 in Property Management News
Not All Gated & Guarded developments are protected by law. Indeed currently no law regulating gated and guarded communities unless they are landed strata developments.
When it comes to gated communities with landed strata titles, the collection of service charges (SC+SF) are mandated by the Strata Management Act. When it comes to guarded neighborhoods with individual titles however, there is no federal law. There is a state government gazette in Selangor which approves and regulates new gated and guarded developments guidelines.
“The bottom line is there is no law governing the collection of service charges for this type of Development except by a contract (DMC) between the developer and the first purchaser. After sub-sale, the enforcement will be a problem and difficult. Without money all the facilities would not be able to properly up keep and maintained.
Guarded neighborhoods are houses with individual land titles, where the “guarded” factor is not based on the provisions of any law or regulation but exists only on an ‘ad-hoc’ basis with the agreement between the Developer & the purchaser.
Common Property Maintenance and services such as security and rubbish disposal, landscaping would be handled by the police and the Local municipal authorities since the roads and drains within the development are considered public road and reserves, unless the resident association (RA) opts to implement a joint private contract with the Municipal or take over entirely from the Authority.
Therefore, it would be misleading to market a development with individual titles as a gated community, or “gated and guarded”. It is especially misleading when a developer offers such security services for a certain amount of time only if this precedent is not stopped, many RAs will inherit the same problem.
The matter is made worse it seems that insult is added to injury when the developer still owns several units and refuses to pay for the shares (SC) of these units. The RA would imaginably suffer in the long run. However, as if the development suffers, the value of the property would also fall.
If, no legislations are introduced to regulate G & G development with individual titles, The Developer will continue to exploits & bully the owners.
Posted By GMSSB
Term of Reference 2002-2022
Dated: 26-04-2013
April 26, 2013 in Property Management News
Not All Gated & Guarded developments are protected by law. Indeed currently no law regulating gated and guarded communities unless they are landed strata developments.
When it comes to gated communities with landed strata titles, the collection of service charges (SC+SF) are mandated by the Strata Management Act. When it comes to guarded neighborhoods with individual titles however, there is no federal law. There is a state government gazette in Selangor which approves and regulates new gated and guarded developments guidelines.
“The bottom line is there is no law governing the collection of service charges for this type of Development except by a contract (DMC) between the developer and the first purchaser. After sub-sale, the enforcement will be a problem and difficult. Without money all the facilities would not be able to properly up keep and maintained.
Guarded neighborhoods are houses with individual land titles, where the “guarded” factor is not based on the provisions of any law or regulation but exists only on an ‘ad-hoc’ basis with the agreement between the Developer & the purchaser.
Common Property Maintenance and services such as security and rubbish disposal, landscaping would be handled by the police and the Local municipal authorities since the roads and drains within the development are considered public road and reserves, unless the resident association (RA) opts to implement a joint private contract with the Municipal or take over entirely from the Authority.
Therefore, it would be misleading to market a development with individual titles as a gated community, or “gated and guarded”. It is especially misleading when a developer offers such security services for a certain amount of time only if this precedent is not stopped, many RAs will inherit the same problem.
The matter is made worse it seems that insult is added to injury when the developer still owns several units and refuses to pay for the shares (SC) of these units. The RA would imaginably suffer in the long run. However, as if the development suffers, the value of the property would also fall.
If, no legislations are introduced to regulate G & G development with individual titles, The Developer will continue to exploits & bully the owners.
Posted By GMSSB
Term of Reference 2002-2022
Dated: 26-04-2013
