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Lower crime rate raises interest in gated townships
10/05/2007 The Star By By Elan Perumal, Salina Khalid, Stuart Michael and Lim Chia Ying

GATED and guarded communities are gaining popularity in the housing sector especially in the Klang Valley. The concept, initially derived out of concern for safety and security, has today grown into an attractive marketing tool for housing developers, adding a premium to the price of properties. In this two-part article, StarMetro explores the pros and cons of living in a gated and guarded neighbourhood and the measures introduced by the authorities to minimise shortcomings for the residents.

Gated and guarded housing seem to be an attractive value-added feature for housing developers in the Klang Valley.

For most housebuyers, safety and security are issues close to their hearts, thus a neighbourhood which comes with such a feature surely adds premium to the value of the property they intend to purchase.


Impressive: The arch and guardhouse at the entrace to the Tropicana housing estate in Petaling Jaya.
Outgoing Klang Municipal Council president Abdul Bakir Zin said the council had received applications from a few developers to have gated community for their housing projects.

Bakir said the crime index at guarded and gated communities was minimal compared with other residential areas.

Citing an example, Bakir said, the crime rate at Bandar Botanic was very low due to the presence of guards at all the precincts.

“The mere presence of the guards is enough to keep the criminals away from such areas,” he said, adding that gated communities should be encouraged.

In Petaling Jaya, gated housing at places like Aman Suria, Taman SEA, Damansara Lagenda and Bukit Mayang Mas has managed to keep crime cases low compared with housing areas without the facility.

Aman Suria has been equipped with security features such as close-circuit television (CCTV) and intercom.

The guards use intercom to communicate with the house owner before allowing non-residents to enter the housing estate.


Ever watchful: A guard from the guardhouse raising the barrier for a car to enter a gated neighbourhood in Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam.
Its residents committee chairman Wendy Chan said there were no break-ins in Aman Suria for the last three years due to the tight security.

“Once developers have created a guarded or gated community, the crime rate is much lower. In fact, the property value will become higher and residents feel safer at home than outside.

“In a gated community, every resident must pay. In a guarded community, not every resident will pay but still enjoy the benefit of security and this is unfair to those who pay. However, the government should support the move because it helps with crime prevention,” said Chan, who is also chairman for the Sunway Mas Commercial Centre.

Samson David, who lives in the gated community of Bandar Puteri in Puchong, said gated communities offered a solution for crime prevention at residential areas.

“My place is almost crime-free except for minor wire thefts and we feel very safe living here,” said Samson.

With the consent of more than 70% of the residents, he said, an area could be gated provided that there was a Rukun Tetangga or residents association looking into the other matters such as the of right passage of roads as well as backlanes.

MPSJ public relations officer Azfarizal Abdul Rashid said the council had no objection to the creation of gated communities in the municipality.

While acknowledging that the presence of gated community had helped in reducing crime rate in the housing estates, Azfarizal said the applications for gating-up the existing areas would be studied on case by case basis.

“I don’t see it being a problem in a newly developed area but the scenario is different in existing townships. We have to ensure that applications for the new area meet the necessary requirements before approving them,” he said,

Azfarizal also said the council had received the new guidelines on gated community from the state and they were already implementing the new rules.

 

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