Critical review on journal: Defect characterisations in the Malaysian affordable

housing

In the realm property management, understanding the quality of affordable housing

is important in order to successfully meet housing requirements. The article is titled
“Defect characterisations in the Malaysian affordable housing” authored by AbdulLateef
Olanrewaju, Yien Yen Tan, and See Ning Soh published on a date 4th November 2022 in
International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation.

The central theme of the article is the Malaysian government wants to gives homes
to households that earning the median income or less. However, the media and literature
have consistently criticized and complained about the defects in affordable housing.
Therefore, this research has explored the defects in affordable housing from the users or
occupants perspective. For this analysis, I intend to evaluate the methodology employed
by the authors, identify the strengths and weaknesses of their research approach and
assess the implications of their findings for property management and housing policy in
Malaysia.

The authors address the research question of defect characteristics in Malaysian

affordable housing by employing a literature review and a survey questionnaire. This
research focused specifically on “Program Perumahan Rakyat” housing development.
Furthermore, none of the previous research on defects conducted to categorise the
defects in the building. According to article, the categorization is very important for
systemic decision making because there are continuous interactions amongst the
defects, causes and remedial actions. The survey received 105 (or 69%) completed
feedback from 152 forms. Based on the literature and observations, the researchers
created a questionnaire instrument with twenty-one construction problems. These were
rated on a 5-point Likert scale, from extremely common to least common.Thirteen more
items dealing with remedial efforts to decrease faults were included. These were rated on
a 5-point Likert scale, from strongly agree to least agree. The survey sheets were handed
out to all 152 residents of a Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) housing development in
Malaysia's northern state via hand delivery.
The research question is well defined and relevant to the field of property
management, addressing a major issue in Malaysian housing. The methodology
combines qualitative site visits ad quantitative surveys to provide a complete picture of
defect characteristics such as poor drainage, faulty electrical fittings and wiring, fungi
attack on wall on corridor, exposed metal on walls, broken roof gutter and more. The
conclusions are highly supported by actual data and statistical analysis, adding important
insights to the body of knowledge on affordable housing quality.
Then, there may be biases in the research design, particularly in the selection of
housing projects and the subjective assessment of faults during site visits. The
methodology could be improved by using more enhanced sampling techniques and
standardized defect evaluation criteria. The concentration on a specific geographic region
and housing market setting may limit generalizability. There can be alternative
explanations for the results such as construction techniques and regulatory enforcement,
deserve more investigation.

In conclusion, the study on defect characterizations in Malaysian affordable

housing provides valuable insights into the challenges facing the housing sector in
Malaysia. The study helps us to understand housing quality and supports policy initiatives
targeted at raising affordable housing standards. In the future, the research article should
address the identified gaps and investigate the impact of defects on housing affordability.

References
AbdulLateef Olanrewaju, Y. Y. (2022). Defect characterisations in the Malaysian
affordable housing. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation.