No way to live: Jaafar showing a hole in the ceiling of an abandoned unit at a teachers’ quarters in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
No repairs, no security – just monthly deductions for rundown homes, they say
JOHOR BARU: Broken ceilings. Poor electrical wiring. And sometimes, even wild boars make unwelcome visits.
These are some of the problems that teachers have to put up with when they have the misfortune of being provided with rundown living quarters.
“Whenever there’s a thunderstorm, we must switch off all electrical appliances or risk having them damaged due to the compromised wiring,” said an art teacher who only wants to be known as Hassan, 58.
The father of four attributed this to wire thefts over the past few years.
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He said there was no security guard stationed at the complex here.
“Residents had to form their own neighbourhood watch,” he said.
Other residents like Jaafar Jamil, 62, were frustrated with the lack of maintenance at the government quarters, despite monthly deductions being made from their housing allowances.
Though retired, Jaafar’s wife is still teaching so they have continued to live in the quarters.
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He said that residents would have between RM150 and RM320 deducted from their salaries depending on their service grade, yet no significant maintenance work has been carried out for years.
Numerous complaints had been lodged with the state Education Department, particularly regarding a broken ceiling and leaking roof, but no action had been taken, he claimed.
“We were told there was no budget. If that’s the case, why are our allowances still being deducted?” he said in an interview yesterday.
Jaafar said the complex, which was opened in 2004, was once a dream home for teachers relocated to Johor due to its strategic location near city schools.
“Now, some units are dilapidated,” he said, adding that many abandoned units could not be assigned to new tenants due to their poor condition.
A mathematics teacher, who wanted to be known only as Awie, said stray animals such as dogs, wild boars and monkeys frequently caused damage at the complex.
“Last year, we had to replace the entire surau carpet, which cost RM12,000, after wild boars defecated on it,” he said.
Awie said he had no choice but to continue living there due to financial and health reasons.
“My wife suffered a stroke and I need to live close to my workplace. I cannot afford to move elsewhere due to Johor’s high cost of living,” he said.
National Parents, Community and Private Sector Involvement chairman Datuk Yahya Jaafar said many government quarters in Johor were outdated and no longer meet housing standards.
“Some of these buildings have not been repainted in more than 20 years. Given the poor living conditions, it’s no surprise that younger teachers are reluctant to move into these quarters,” he said.
In Keningau, Sabah, a teacher who was transferred to the district in October said he was shocked to see the condition of the house assigned to him by the government.
“It looked like a rumah kongsi (labour workers’ quarters) on the inside,” said the teacher, who declined to be named.
He stayed in the run-down house for a week until his appeal was approved. He then moved to a teachers’ flat.
Later, he found out that the quarters he initially stayed in remained empty because the electricity had been cut off, though he was unsure why this happened.
Teachers in rural Sabah continue to face challenging living conditions, with some still residing in dilapidated quarters lacking basic amenities.
Case in point is the story of a primary school principal having to live in a storeroom on school premises for about three years.
George Odol, who retired in November 2023, made headlines after it was revealed that he had converted a small 2.74m by 4.87m storeroom into his living quarters, sharing the school’s kitchen and bathroom facilities.
He had done this so that non-local teachers would have a better chance to get government housing, which is limited.
His case highlighted the issue of inadequate teacher accommodations in rural Sabah.
Efforts to improve the condition of these quarters have been slow, with many teachers calling for immediate government intervention.
The state government has acknowledged the problem, with Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek previously stating that improving the living conditions of teachers in rural areas is a priority.
