SOCIAL ISSUES IN MALAYSIA TPS 585

TABLE OF CONTENT

NO CONTENTS PAGE

1.0 Introduction 1

2.0 Introduction to Social Issues 2

3.0 Social Issues That Occur in Malaysia 4

4.0 Impact Social Issues Towards Urban Planning 6

Suggestion and Solutions to Solve the Social Issues in Malaysia

5.0 9
Related to Urban Planning

6.0 Conclusion 11

7.0 Reference 12
 SOCIAL ISSUES IN MALAYSIA TPS 585

1.0 Introduction

This study explains the social problems and issues in Malaysia that related to urban
planning. It also focus on impact of social issues towards urban planning and solution to solve the
social issues in Malaysia related to urban planning.
Social issues may be happened due to urbanization. Rapid urbanization will cause many
social issues such as crime. The causes of urbanization are industrialization, commercialization,
social benefits and services, employment opportunities, modernization and challenges in the
mode of living, and rural-urban transforming. Urbanization also implies a change in the
economic, social and culture aspects of society. Urbanization also lead to increasing the number
of people living in towns and cities. People from rural area move to urban area because the urban
area is highly influenced due to better economic, political, and social advantage. In urban area
also have high quality of life because the urban area provide a better education, health care,
sanitation, housing, business opportunities, and transportation. There are four theories of urban
society which is Hedonism, Wirth, Tonnies, and Fisher. This theory explain the argue about the
organization of the society.
Urbanization also will give effect to the cities. It will be positive and negative effect to the
cities. The positive effect will be a better quality of lice compare to the negative effect of
urbanization will be housing problem, crowding, unemployment, development of slump, water
and sanitation problems, poor health and spread of diseases, traffic congestion, and urban crime.
However, high and rapid urbanization will cause more negative effect on the cities due to the
large capacity of populations.

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2.0 Introduction to social issues

Social and society derived from the Latin

words socius and societas. Meanwhile, in
Roman socius was a merchant cooperating
with other merchant as a partner, fellows, or
associate. According to Cambridge
dictionary, social also relating to society and
the way people live together. Then, issue
means a subject or problem that people think
or talk about, or need to deal with. Social
issues can be defined as a moral problem that
According to affect a member or group of society directly
or indirectly. It also is not obvious things that
can be seen and solve.
Societies face complex issues. Social
conditions that some people might see as a
problem that harm some segments of society
but there are also some beneficial and
positive aspect to another people. Some of
these issues are include education,
government and political problems,
environment and ecology, healthcare
availability, social security, human right and
equality, gender equality, unemployment,
immigration, racism and discrimination,
abortion, and crimes. The following is a few
an example that related to the social issues.
a) Education
UNISCO highlight the education for all
which is means no one left behind to enjoyed
the environment and learning process. But,

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there are some social problems that related in education such as student behavior (bullying), and
poor facilities in undeveloped countries.
b) Government
Government is related to political issues. People have their own political ideology. Unstable
political issues will give negative effect to the productivity of economic growth and, to a smaller
degree, physical and human capital accumulation.
c) Racism and discrimination
Racism and discrimination is the social issues that all the countries faced. All people in a country
should have an equal treatment socially and politically. The highest cases of racism and
discrimination issues is about white and black people. Malaysia also faced racism issues due to
Malaysia is a multi-cultural and multi-racial country.
d) Gender equality
Gender equality important because it is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary
foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. For example, women need the equal
treatment with man such as an opportunities of position in leadership. Usually, man have high
possibility to get better position than women. Another gender quality problems is there are some
girl have been forced to marriage at early age.
e) Unemployment
Unemployment related to economic factor. Unemployment also include severe financial hardship
and poverty, debt, homelessness and housing stress, family tensions and breakdown, boredom,
alienation, shame and stigma, increased social isolation, crime, erosion of confidence and self-
esteem, the atrophying of work skills and ill-health.
f) Immigrant control
Immigrants tend to another country due to geographic areas and occupations. Immigrant usually
will get inequality treatment in another country. In Malaysia also have immigrant from another
country such as from Indonesia, Filipina and Bangladesh. They tent to Malaysia due to better job
opportunities.
g) Health
Health not just a medical issues but also related to social issues. Health and health care are urgent
problems in our society. Developed countries may have improved medical facilities compare to
the undeveloped countries. Currently, the world facing health issues which is coronavirus
diseases (Covid19). This diseases does not have any specific vaccine and many ongoing clinical
trials evaluating potential treatments.
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2.0 Social issues that occur in Malaysia

The social issues that occur in Malaysia are such as immigrant control, unemployment, and
health care.

2.1 Unemployment
Unemployment is a scenario that facing by developing country such as Malaysia. It also caused
from economic growth and social development. High unemployment will lead to crime.
Unemployment caused by high density of population due to the lack of vacancies offered, huge
number of foreign worker in Malaysia, mismatch skills and the job selection, spatial job location
offered, higher demand on semi-skilled workers and others. High unemployment also means that
labor resources are not being used efficiently. High number of foreign workers in Malaysia will
cause wastages of in local labour. Unemployment is a stress condition that gives big impact to the
society and national development. The effects of unemployment will cause wasted the labour
force, government tax increased and higher spending on welfare of unemployed people are
among impact of unemployment.
2.2 Immigrant control
Immigration control are specifically to the immigration of foreign workers are the top three of
social issues in Malaysia. Though foreign workers served to overcome the labor shortage in the
Malaysian construction market, overdependence on foreign workers and the negative impacts
induced have become a serious social problem. High foreigners workers will cause many of local
labour unemployed. In 30 June 2017, there were 1.78 million legal foreign workers in the
country, according to the home affairs ministry. There are also many illegal foreign workers come

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to Malaysia such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, Filipina, and Pakistan. Foreign workers in

Malaysia also cause crime such as thief, vandalism and raped. Currently, there are some social
issues related to illegal migrant which is Rohingya. Population of Rohingya people in Malaysia
increase day by day and they claimed to gained citizenship and their right to have just like
Malaysian citizen.
2.3 Health care
Malaysia government provide health care facilities to the community without high fees and with
improved medical facilities. Even the unemployment can access the medical facilities. Currently
the world and Malaysia facing health issues which is Coronavirus diseases (Covid-19). This
diseases does not have any specific vaccine and many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential
treatments. But, Malaysia managed to control the number cases.
The current birth rate for Malaysia in 2020 is 16.451 births per 1000 people, a 1.15% decline
from 2019. Meanwhile, the number of death rates is 5.223. It will increase the number of
population in Malaysia. The increasing number of population caused by improving health care
availability. Increasing number of newborn baby, elder peoples and the illegal foreign workers
by permission and without permission also another factor of increasing number of population.
Migration from rural to urban due to health care facilities also will caused rapid urbanization and
rapidly increasing number of population especially in the huge cities such as Kuala Lumpur.

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4.0 Impact social issues towards urban planning

The impact of social issue in this study focus on poverty, unemployment, traffic congestion,
income level and social status, crime, vandalism, and population imbalance.

4.1 Poverty
It will cause children do not have the opportunity to get an education or just have a low level of
education, they are prone to social problems such as drug abuse, pregnancy at a young age and so
on. In addition, poverty also prevents children from being able to find high-paying jobs in the
future because of their low educational attainment. Other than that, Poverty is characterized by a
number of significant shortcomings in which its major dimensions are included things like
inadequate or unstable household income that leads to inadequate use, the risk of failure to obtain
facilities and goods basic needs, low quality housing that makes its residents vulnerable to
problems health, crime and natural disasters and limited discrimination and facilities. This give
impact towards urban planning to enhance urban livability, which includes ensuring quality
education and health care, providing affordable and quality housing for those in the middle and
low income category (Economic Planning Unit, 2015).
4.2 Traffic congestion
It had cause air pollution due to large number use of private vehicles on the road and released
carbon (C) emissions daily to surrounding. This matter give effect towards urban planning which
is need to expand transit-oriented development, focusing mainly on reducing the use of private
vehicles and increasing the use of public transport.

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4.3 Unemployment
Unemployment social issue give impact on urban
planning that undermines the government's efforts to
boost economic development. This matter need
some of the government spending was used for the
development of the country but had to be used to
fund the poor.
4.4 Social isolation based on income level and
social status
It will give impacts towards urban planning which is
social segregation increase the cost of maintaining
the city infrastructure by local authorities. The
burden on local governments is due to limited
financial resources in providing new infrastructure
as opposed to managing existing infrastructure.
4.5 Crime
Crime happened likes snatch theft due to
unemployed and most of them are also involved in
drug abuse. Other causes of this matter are the
economic downturn, which has led many people to
lose their job opportunities, which has prompted
some people to rush to quickly earn money. The
increase number of crime gives impact towards
urban planning for plan good design and effective
use of the built environment that can assist in
reducing the opportunity of crime as well as the fear
of crime and perceptions of safety. City Councils
must ensure that public spaces are well designed and
maintained and that safety issues are a key concept
in the design of the public realm. Other than that,
create job opportunities for that area so that the
people will have income to survive their life.

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4.6 Vandalism
Vandalism has now posed a major threat to our
social fabric and people's well-being. Hardly a
week passes without media reports about some
form of vandalism being committed on public
telephones, street lighting, public parks or
residential flats. Vandalism causes the public and
private sector to suffer losses due to the expense
of repairing and replacing damaged items then
have an impact on urban planning because the
beautifully designed city image is destroyed by
vandalism so the sense of welcoming to the city is
lost which makes people not interested to see the
view of city image.
4.7 Population imbalance
Population imbalance (both in terms of race and
status) is particularly evident in homeownership
especially in new residential areas built on the
outskirts of the metropolitan area. For example in
the Klang Valley there are many types of
condominiums and luxury bungalows built in the
suburbs compared to other types of homes. This
will give impact on urban community structure
and patterns of population integration. There are
many environmentally sensitive areas in the
metropolitan area such as water catchments,
sloping areas, and forested areas. This will affect
urban planning to create a sustainable
environment if the careless development process
will cause disruption to the structure of the land
which may result in landslides, soil erosion and
flash flooding especially in existing traditional
settlements.
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5.0 Suggestion and Solutions to Solve the Social Issues in Malaysia Related
to Urban Planning
Thera are some suggestion and solution to solve the social issues in Malaysia that
related to urban planning. The suggestion related in implementation of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG).

5.1 Combat poverty by promoting economic development and job creation.

By minimizing deprivation employment needs 3 Big thrusts: (1) Build Employment rise, (2)
Employability, and make (3) More productive Labor Markets. The first impulse acts on the
demand side of Labor market by creating employment opportunities suited to the skills of the
poor. The second thrust works on the labor market's supply side, by increasing the employability
of the poor through training programs and vocational training. Labor markets have a great deal of
friction, particularly in developing countries, due to a lack of information and labor mobility;
programs such as job matching and placement services can help make the labor market more
efficient and thus increase employment. Increasing job opportunities, employability and the
efficiency of the labor market.
5.2 Involve local community in local government.
Involve local community or community participation in planning decision-making in locl
government is fundamental for achieving sustainable development by deliberating on the present
and future interests of the community. The provision for the community to participate in both the
strategic and operational planning is stated in the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act
172). Community participation in the planning process helps decision-makers to make better

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decisions by incorporating the community's experiential knowledge into the process.

Furthermore, it is meant to promote greater citizenship and to democratize governance through
the involvement of multiple stakeholders.
5.3 Reduce air pollution by upgrading energy use and alternative public transport systems.
Public transportation can support the development of higher density land, which reduces the
distance and time people need to travel to reach their destinations, meaning less transportation
emissions. Compact development also leaves more land for parks, wildlife preserves, forests, and
other uses like agriculture in the region. Finally, it reduces the need for pavement, which means
less run-off which is degrading the water supply. Other solutions is implement principle of
Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a compact, mixed-use development near transit stations
found that can improve the water quality through compact development through TOD by
reducing the amount of impermeable surface runoff and preserving biodiversity by reducing
natural habitat fragmentation.
5.4 Create private-public partnerships to provide services such as waste disposal and
housing.
A Public Private Partnership ( PPP) is a public-private-sector agreement for the provision of
facilities or services typically provided by the public-sector. This is only one of many ways of
public sector procurement available. The public and private sectors can combine in a partnership
arrangement to provide quality public services and infrastructure in the most economically
efficient manner. PPP advantages are:
a) Ensure the necessary investments into public sector and more effective public resources
management;
b) Ensure higher quality and timely provision of public services;
c) Mostly investment projects are implemented in due terms and do not impose unforeseen
public sectors extra expenditures;
d) A private entity is granted the opportunity to obtain a long-term remuneration;
e) Private sector expertise and experience are utilized in PPP projects implementation;
f) Appropriate PPP project risks allocation enables to reduce the risk management expenditures;
g) In many cases assets designed under PPP agreements could be classified off the public sector
balance sheet

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5.5 Plant trees and incorporate the care of city green spaces as a key element in urban
planning.
Plant trees and incorporate the care of city green spaces as a key element in urban planning give
many advantages as a solution to promotes sustainable city. Urban green spaces, such as parks ,
playgrounds and suburban greenery, can promote mental and physical health and reduce
morbidity and mortality in urban residents by offering psychological comfort and stress relief,
promoting social cohesion, encouraging physical activity and reducing exposure to air pollution,
noise and excessive heat.

6.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, everyone in Malaysia should be interested in preventing the continued spread of
these social issues. As we know, productive societies are places where people stay, work and
enjoy life in the confidence that they can do so safely. Secure and safe places are vibrant and
attract people, activity and investment. Safety and security are therefore essential to successful
communities. There should be no assumption that successful urban design alone will solve crime.
Positive preparation, however, may make a significant contribution to health, particularly when
coordinated with other steps. It is important to follow an integrated approach to any growth,
where professional disciplines and key stakeholders work together. Tackling the root causes of
crime is more important and the social approach to solving social issues is vital, if safety and
security is to be achieved in the long term. Community partnership with the police and
government agencies are therefore essential in ensuring the safety and security of our cities.
Safety and security is not the realm of any one profession or agency, but the responsibility must
be shared by all as good citizens of the city

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7.0 Reference

a) Rinkesh. (n.d.). Conserve energy future. Retrieved from https://www.conserve-energy-

future.com/causes-effects-solutions-urbanization.php
b) Sustainable Development Goals. (n.d.). Retrieved from United Nations:
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
c) Azam, N. N. (N.D.). Urbanization: Problems And Solutions. Academia, 1-13.
d) Ralph, M. (2015, March 27). Social Impacts. Impacts Of Urbanisation.
e) Bhattacharyya, A. (1987). Specific factors, unemployment, and immiserizing growth in a
small open economy. Economic Research Institute Study Papers, 168

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