Social Development Strategies - Iskandar Malaysia

SECTION A
FRAMEWORK FOR COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT
■ The Orang Asli Communities
There are ten Orang Asli settlements in SJER, nine in Johor Bahru
district and one in the mukim of Serkat with a total population of
around 1,405 persons.
Almost half of the Orang Asli households in Johor Bahru district are
hardcore poor. In Pontian district, only about 10% of the Orang Asli
households are hardcore poor.
■ Profile of the Rural Poor Households in SJER
Based on the Field Survey Report for the Rural Household Survey
(Economic and Social Aspect, 2006), some major characteristics
of the rural poor households in and around SJER are:
□ The majority, 96% of the rural poor households are Bumiputeras.
□ The average household size of the poor households is 4.8 which
is smaller than that of the non-poor households at 5.2
□ About 42% of the members of the poor households are of five
to 19 years old suggesting that these households comprise of
mainly young families.
□ The proportion of the elderly (above 64 years old) is higher
in the rural poor households at 9.5% than in non-poor rural
households at 3% only
□ About 84.2% of the heads of the poor households are married.
The rest, 15.8% are widows and widowers. For the non-poor
kampong households, only 8% are widows and widowers.
□ About 28.4% of the members of the poor households have no
formal education as compared with 5.1% for the non-poor
households.
□ Most working members of the rural poor households work as
fishermen and farmers (66.7%) and sales workers (20%). In nonpoor
rural households, the corresponding figures are 4.7% and
13.4%.
□ About 95% of the poor households are supported by single
working members as compared with two working members in
non-poor rural households.
□ The majority, 84.2% of the rural poor households are landless. In
non-poor rural households, only 67.9% are landless.
□ The unemployment rate (percentage of total work force)
for the rural poor households is higher at 22.7% than in nonpoor
households at about 4.8% only. The overall average
unemployment rate is 5.4%.
□ The majority, 80% of the heads of the rural poor households
stated that they are interested to participate in the relocation
programmes which include a package of land, home and
jobs.
□ A high percentage, 93.3% of them also stated that they are
interested in participating in economic projects at the present
site.
□ About 66.7% of the heads of the rural poor households stated
that they would permit their children to stay at hostels nearby
while another 13.3% would not allow. The rest, 20%, are not
sure.
5.3 Ethnic Difference In Property Ownership
A. Property Ownership
About 15.7% of the whole assessed properties (in terms of number) in
MBJB, MPJBT, MP Kulai and part of MD Pontian (MDP) are owned by
the Bumiputera; 35.5% by the Chinese; 3.6% by the Indians; 13.6% by
developers and the remaining 31.7% by other business entities and
institutions and others. The data for Pasir Gudang is not available. The
Bumiputeras own 28.6% of the total assessed properties in MBJB; 11.9% in
MPJBT; 7.1% in MP Kulai and 11.7% in part of MDP.
B. Property Value
The total value of the assessed properties in the four areas stands
at RM66.65 billion. Of this total, RM33.67 billion or 50.5% are in MBJB,
RM23.47 billion or 35.2% are in MPJBT, RM9.09 billion or 13.6% are in MP
Kulai and RM0.42 billion or 0.6% are in MD Pontian.
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