‘Tribunal key to curbing rental bias'
A RENTAL tribunal under the proposed Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) can help address issues related to rental disputes, eviction claims and race-based discrimination, a forum has heard.
Findings by Architect of Diversity (AoD) show that reasons for discrimination by landlords can be grouped into three categories – bad experiences, poor resolution mechanisms leading to overreaction, and prejudice masked as 'racial preference' alongside cultural or religious concerns.
Wee: Biases pervasive in rental industry.
AoD executive director Jason Wee said the race-based filtering issue by landlords and property agents remained widespread.
'There are many findings across our research and public sentiment surveys on landlords and tenants.'
If the bill is not tabled and passed, it will continue to do injustice to the affected Malaysians, Wee said during a forum by Social Democracy Malaysia (SocDem) and AoD in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
He added that some property websites still allowed filtering of prospective tenants by race.
The forum, titled 'Tackling Rental Racial Discrimination', explored how the long-awaited legislation could formalise protections and promote equal treatment.
'Fear of income loss is the landlord's top concern, often leading them to screen tenants based on race rather than financial credentials,' said Wee.
Kusaaliny: Tribunal can protect both parties.
SocDem co-founder and Petaling Jaya City Council Zone 11 councillor M. Kusaaliny said the proposed Act should include provisions for a rental tribunal.
'The goal of the tribunal is to protect interests of both tenant and landlord.
'It would allow both parties to resolve disputes efficiently without the cost of legal representation, with claims amount capped,' she said.
'No one wins in a broken rental system.
'If landlords cannot rent out their properties safely, the market slowly dies.
'If tenants cannot secure homes because of prejudice and harm caused by others, the cycle will never be broken,' Kusaaliny stressed.
Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran, a tenant and landlord himself, said he understood the challenges faced by both sides.
'We need quick decisions on problems.
'If a tenant does not pay rent, or if there is a leaking roof or faulty toilet, bring these up to the tribunal,' he said.
Rajiv said out of nine million households in Malaysia, about 1.8 million were staying in rented properties.
'Even if just 5% of these have disputes, that is enough to keep a tribunal busy,' he said.
He highlighted that the tribunal could balance the interests of both landlords and tenants.
'If a tenant moves out and the landlord finds damage, taking legal action can cost around RM6,000 in fees.
'The tribunal would ease this burden.
'There must be a clear provision in the law that there will be no racial discrimination in housing.
'The most important element is to establish the tribunal,' said Rajiv.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Focus Malaysia
28 minutes ago
- Focus Malaysia
When scrapping the HVGT is akin to sparring Chanel, LV, Rolex while the poor squeezed with expanded SST
WHO can blame man-on-the-street Malaysians who are struggling to cope with escalating cost of living following an expansion to the Sales and Service Tax (SST) scope for being infuriated by news that the Madani government has ditched plan for luxury goods tax tailored for the ultra-rich? This came about after the Finance Ministry confirmed via a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday (July 29) that the government has decided not to proceed with imposition of the high-value goods tax (HVGT) which is fixed at 10%. The given rationale is that elements of the HVGT – which implementation has been delayed since its May 1, 2024 target date – have been incorporated into the revamped sales tax regime where luxury and discretionary items are now taxed at rates of 5% or 10%. To ordinary Malaysians, complexities of the taxation system is perhaps beyond their comprehension. What is obvious though is that such hot potato notion that commoners remain squeezed while the ultra-rich are spared would be rapidly politicised by detractors. Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz lambasted the fact that while the HVGT has been scrapped in view of its overlap with SST, the Low Value Goods Tax (LVGT) which came into effect on Jan 1, 2024 is still being imposed side-by-side the SST. 'Regardless, the abolition of HVGT doesn't solve the problem of rising SST rate and SST scope expansion which has resulted in 97% of goods and services that were previously tax-exempted are now taxed by the Madani government,' he reacted on his Facebook page. 'What the people want postponed or abolished are increases in the SST rate and its scope expansion as well as rises in electricity tariff and petrol prices of oil, notably RON95 and diesel, which have resulted in spiralling cost of business operations and living expenses.' Renegade UMNO member Isham Jalil pointedly asked 'who does the government want to protect – the common folks, the tycoons or the super-rich?' 'It should be luxury goods for the super-rich that need to be taxed more, not taxed at the same rate as goods meant for ordinary Malaysians,' countered the former UMNO supreme council who was fired from the party on Dec 7, 2023 for opposing the party's collaborations with DAP in elections. 'This government used to say that only the T15 super-rich had to pay more. But until now the government has not detailed out the definition of T15 and who the super-rich are. 'Instead, the SST tax was expanded, the government collected RM50-60 bil a year and on average the people had to pay more while various subsidies were withdrawn.' All in all, as argued by tax-savvy governance advocate ksampoh@MyOwn Inc (@ksampoh), it is important to understand that the HVGT which is set at 10% 'is not intended as a penalty for affordable goods'. 'Rather, its purpose is to create a level playing field for Malaysian retailers who have historically faced stiff competition from overseas e-sellers that operated without tax obligations,' he clarified on X in response to a post by former Barisan Nasional (BN) strategic communication deputy director Datuk Eric See-To. The former lieutenant of now incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak who also goes by the nom de plume Lim Sian See was accused as having distorted facts and failing to recognise the difference between established tax principles and sensationalised narratives that may mislead the rakyat. – July 31, 2025 Madani scrapped the luxury goods tax (HVGT) after introducing the low-value goods tax (LVGT) at 10% in early 2024. The MOF claims luxury items are now taxed under SST at 5% or 10%. Here's the joke: cheap goods get hit with a 10% tax, but 'luxury' items supposedly get 5% or 10%.… — Eric SeeTo Lim Sian See (@LimSianSeeEric) July 30, 2025
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Dr Wee concerned STPM top scorers may be missing out
DATUK Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) ( pic ) has raised concerns over the declining number of top Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) scorers being admitted into public universities through the Unit Pusat Universiti (UPU) system compared to matriculation and foundation pathway students since 2018. In response, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said offers to STPM and equivalent leavers for entry into public universities have actually increased by 90.1% over the past seven years. He said a total of 4,530 STPM and equivalent students were offered placements for the 2018/2019 academic session, compared to 8,612 in the 2024/2025 session, in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. However, Dr Wee later said in a Facebook post that Zambry's response warranted further clarification with more detailed data. 'The statement that the number of offers to STPM graduates has nearly doubled must be clearly broken down, as it does not distinguish between qualification categories and critical study programmes. 'Why wasn't the data detailed according to the qualification types as asked – namely STPM, matriculation and foundation – as well as according to the programmes offered? The government must address public concerns and anxieties over a perceived decline in the intake of STPM students in critical programmes compared to matriculation and foundation students,' he said. Dr Wee also questioned the apparent lack of government funding for public universities, which he said had forced institutions to compensate for shortcomings through open admission channels, resulting in higher tuition fees for students. In response, Zambry clarified that these channels operate on an 'over and above' principle and do not affect the intake projections for the main admission stream. 'Open channels are also subject to an evaluation process and must meet all academic, language and programme requirements. There is no compromise on standards set by accredited bodies,' he said. Zambry added that the open channel model reflects the growing maturity of the higher education system amid an evolving academic landscape. 'This requires universities to be agile and equipped with their own financial resources,' he said. To this, Dr Wee said the reply was too general and did not address his question specifically. 'What is the actual number of seats allocated via the open channel for each academic session? Please also state the number of seats available through the UPU channel, as well as the total number of seats offered in critical programmes. 'How is the term 'do not affect' defined if there is no clear comparison between the two channels?' he said. Dr Wee further urged the government to provide evidence if there is truly no compromise in admission standards. 'I have received complaints from excellent students who failed to gain admission through UPU, but were later accepted through the commercial or open channel – provided they were willing to pay significantly higher fees. 'This is a clear example of a lack of transparency in merit-based evaluation and must be explained immediately,' he said. He added that raising commercial channel fees to boost university revenue, without transparency and fairness in student admissions, is a pro-elite policy. 'This is not a real solution. Public universities should instead focus on commercialising the outcomes of their research and development, rather than taking the easy way out by increasing fees through the open channel. 'The government should provide adequate allocations for the operating and development expenditures of public universities based on actual needs, while the Finance Ministry must grant the necessary approvals. 'As long as the Higher Education Ministry or the universities do not disclose detailed data, public concerns over the lack of transparency and fairness in the student intake system will persist,' he said.
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
No plans to scrap Mobile Phone Data initiative
Talking tech: Fahmi visiting one of the booths at the International Connectivity Conference Expo in Kuala Lumpur. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star PUTRAJAYA has no plans to scrap the Mobile Phone Data (MPD) initiative, as no privacy violations have occurred, says Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil. He said the MPD is in line with Cabinet decisions, local laws and international standards. 'All necessary safety measures have been implemented and the government remains open to improving security mechanisms while continuously monitoring the initiative to maintain public confidence,' Fahmi said in response to Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (PN-Langkawi) who asked whether the initiative would be cancelled. Fahmi clarified that the MPD did not involve personally identifiable information and the data provided by mobile network operators (MNOs) was not classified as personal data under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010. He also noted that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Statistics Department and MNOs held a media briefing on June 9 to explain the initiative. 'The MCMC is aware of public concerns over privacy. However, the data shared by the MNOs is aggregated statistical output, not individual data. 'These statistics are processed internally in a secure environment before being shared with the MCMC,' Fahmi said. He added that MPD provided accurate, granular and near real-time data to support policy planning in telecommunications and tourism, including a focus on Langkawi, in line with the initiative's original mandate. Earlier last month, the MCMC clarified that MNOs are only required to provide eight types of data for the MPD, none of which included names, MyKad numbers or phone numbers. Mobile station international subscriber directory numbers, unique IDs and location data such as latitude and longitude are among the data collected.
