Monday, March 28, 2022

提升在职产假与陪产假 + 边境重开,你怎么说 ? (3月27日)


日期: 2022 年 3 月 27 日(星期日)

主题:提升在职产假与陪产假 + 边境重开,你怎么说 ? 

主持:黄康馨

现场录影:这里看

 

***

以下是採訪手稿:


【第一单元】:

 

今天的《你怎么说》同样会探讨两个课题,有请到各领域的代表从不同的角度进行探讨。

国会 3 21 号通过 2021 年雇用(修订)法案三读,把女性的有薪产假增加到 98 天;而男性的有薪陪产假则是 7 天。

今天节目的第一段,我们率先来关注这个议题:

1.首先,观众可能想要先了解的是,这次修订法案三读通过,最大的推动力是什么因素呢?

不少的修訂是必要和及時的。

這次的僱用法案修訂的內容,除了最受矚目的有薪產假和陪產假之外,還有更新、擴大和改進不少條款,包括立法禁止解僱孕婦、制定職場歧視和性騷擾投訴機制、授權人力資源部處理外籍員工僱用申請、定義‘強迫勞動’,設立或調高僱主犯規懲罰等等。以往很多高薪僱員因為薪金定義的頂限(原先是月薪2千以下到後來的5千),而無法使用這個僱用法令來行使權利,只能通過勞資關係法來解決勞資糾紛。現在這個限制也拿走了。


2. 一些先进国家,比如,日本、韩国、欧洲等等,在产假总天数这方面,都是走在比较前面。

有一些学者就认为,这种社会文明发展的现象可能会有一些副作用伴随而来,(例如女性在职场遭受的歧视、私企阳奉阴违,女员工为了保住饭碗选择哑忍),关于这点,请问两位怎么看呢?

產假和福利的程度不完全取決於社會文明發展,而是政府或社會普遍上多麼重視和依賴女性參與勞動和經濟活動。這是現實層面。一般說,如果一國的生育率下降,人口老化,同時對女性勞動力的需求高,那麼政府和僱主就會同意更好的產假福利提供給女性,願意留住產後女性僱員。一些僱主知道,一些人才不容易找到,一旦找到就得設法留住。所謂職場受歧視和性騷擾,這次的修法有增強這些方面。這是她們的權利,女性僱員不需要再啞忍接受歧視。

坦白說,法案修訂後我國的有薪產假天數已符合2000年生育保護公約的最低要求,即是14周也就是我們目前的98天。要比較各國的產假和福利有些困難,因為有些國家的有薪產假津貼不是薪水的全數額或有個頂限,或過了一個期限後津貼數額下降。

比如說,日本的產假一共是14周,可是分為產前和產後產假,但社會保險僅提供三分之二的薪水。而英國則是提供39周有薪產假但只給前面690%週薪然後依據一個頂限津貼標準給接下來的33周,最後的13週產假是選擇性但無薪的。

還有,一些國家也提供育兒假(parental leave)給雙親,計算津貼的方式不同。這個我國暫時沒有。

 

 

3. 保护女性职场权益的政策出台,是不是有人欢喜有人忧?这样的政策改变对女性或者家庭单位来说,都会带来正面意义吗?(或者我们从不同的立场来说一下。比如说,对于打工一族、私人企业雇主、或者自由职业者这类无法从相关法案获益的群体来说,他们的反应是如何呢?)

正面的意義是肯定的女性加入職場勞動力已是主流趨勢,再加上女性教育水平和專業水平逐漸增高,僱主無法不珍惜人才為公司帶來效益,保護女性職場權益更為應該。女性權益抬頭,更注重男女平等已是一個趨勢和事實,選擇不啞忍而另謀高就是一個更明智的做法和選擇。所以,一個歧視女性的職場和公司文化,會讓企業長期吃虧佔劣勢。企業如果想得更長遠一點,家庭和諧穩定和生育率提高,有助於未來的勞動力和人才培養,企業和政府不能只看短期利益而犧牲了未來的勞動力和經濟基礎。

對於自僱或自由業工作者,政府應該通過其他途徑提供產假福利,讓他們也能獲益。

 

4. 我们拿日本、俄罗斯来做例子,这些国家透过财政补贴,协助承担产假为企业所带来的损失,所以对企业的影响比较小。一旦缺乏国家财政的支援而给企业带来额外的负担, 可想而知将会造成私人企业在招聘男女员工的选择上出现偏颇。目前我国政府在这方面有什么样的政策支持私人企业,确保法案能够落实到位吗?

 

我不讚成這個說法說企業不能負擔。企業給僱員的薪金補貼其實僅佔總生產值的36%而已,我國是本區域其中一個薪金比率最低的國家,說明平時我們的薪水已被壓低。我國的生育率已逐年走低了,目前平均每位生育期女性僅生產1.98個孩子,已少過兩個了,女性生產也不是企業想象中發生那麼頻密。如果說企業不能在幾年期間支持女性僱員這一生的兩次98天產假,實在說不過去。如果連這樣都不行,那麼萬一有僱員不幸生大病,公司態度會是怎樣?

為了不讓私人企業在招聘方面出現選擇偏頗,那麼國家也應該提高男性僱員的陪產假天數,如此一來養育孩子是雙方父母的責任,就不能怪女性生產 那孩子也有爸爸需要來照顧的!

 

5. 大马统计局的数据显示,我国也即将在 2030 年出现人口老化的现象。除了积极推出各项应对人口老化的政策,如何提高生育率也是需要面对的课题。

比如很多欧洲国家会透过推出高福利政策补贴养育成本,提高国人的生育率。

那这次,女性产假和男性陪产假天数的增加,你们认为会对生育率起到积极显著的作用吗?还有什么是政府/私人企业可以配合推动的呢?

 

這次的女性有薪產假和男性陪產假的天數增加,確實有助於國家社會釋放善意訊號支持家庭發展和生育計劃。老實說,應該沒有太多人真的為了‘貪圖’這些產假福利而把孩子帶到世上。但政府的最新修法肯定讓新建家庭減少財務和心理負擔,要知道安排孩子出生和養育孩子長大是人生重大事情,新手爸媽最為緊張和擔憂。如果你問新手媽媽,縱使有些人肯定還會嫌不夠,98天有薪產假肯定比早前法定的60天好太多了。而且,通常第一次的生產經驗如何,非常重要地影響下一胎生育的慾望和可能。

如今聯邦政府在鼓勵生育方面的待遇包括減免所得稅,一些州政府有派發生育獎勵金。雖然沒有很多的現金直接獎勵,要知道政府在醫療保健和教育方面的福利也是能減輕養育成本的補貼。因此,只要女性僱員能重返職場保住工作,就能繼續供養家庭開銷,為養育孩子成長保住最重要的財務基礎。

 

【第二单元】:

 

6. 我们也想请两位来聊一聊,男性陪产假的意义。如何让产妇、小孩、家庭一集男性本身受益?

我得分享一下我曾拿到兩次的陪產假的經驗。那是我前僱主給予我每次5天的陪產假。通常第一天就在醫院陪太太,照顧她和新生baby。第二天通常就能拿到所有的文件到國民登記局去報生領MyKid卡。第三天太太出院,也是第一晚孩子回家睡覺。第二胎已不聘請陪月婆的我,自然也得做一些工作照顧大兒子和家庭起居,除了坐月餐。

5天對於新手或已上手的爸爸來說,肯定不夠,7天也不夠。

我個人相信男女平等,這樣也意味著責任平等,除了哺乳之外--我也要能做所有太太能做的事情。新加坡允許兩周的有薪陪產假,還可以增加到4週與太太共享產假。我認為如果政府能像國外允許父母共享額外的育兒假,即使是無薪的,也是一個有需要時候的選擇,比如說孩子生病要待在家裡的時候。

 

7. 当然,身为伴侣,男性扮演的家庭角色是非常重要的。但是从男性陪产假天数和女性产假天数的落差就很容易延伸到一些老生常谈的两性社会课题。我们现在在说的,不是女性产假应该多长或多短。而是在探讨产假和陪产假这两者之间的天数落差。会不会某个程度上,也变相加剧了男女不平等的现象?(包括把照顾家庭的责任更大部分地加诸在女性身上?或甚至加剧女性职场竞争力的弱势?)

 

所以我希望政府在未來能增加男性陪產假天數,即使包括無薪陪產假的部分。

我也建議政府提供伸縮性的父母共享育兒假,政府或可以承擔這一部分的津貼,讓男性也可以拿更多的育兒假,正常化兩性平等育兒的現象,如此一來就能慢慢調整社會看待女性的家庭角色。

 

8. 这次的修正案把女性有薪产假增加到 98 天,以马来西亚国情和发展进程来说,是符合时宜的吗?(相比其他发展中国家/东南亚国家?)


是的,這個調整不算晚。經過這個調整後,馬來西亞在女性有薪產假天數和津貼方面是與周邊國家和東亞旗鼓相當的,這算是與國際慣例接軌正常化的階段。



【第三单元】:

 

自从新冠疫情肆虐以来,这 2 年各国政府都致力于应对新冠疫情,希望能够把疫情对社会伤害降到最低,协助国人渡过难关。

人命关天,管控疫情虽然重要,但也必须平衡公共卫生和整体社会的经济代价。所以我国也需要跟上脚步,过渡到地方性流行病的阶段。

我国政府在 3 8 号,也就是当时每日确诊超过 3 万起病例的时候宣布 4 1 号开放边境, 虽然现在每日确诊数回落到 1-2 字头,但每天 5 位数还是相当骇人的。

1. 第一个问题我们想谈的,就是政府当时是基于什么考量在这样的时刻宣布开放国门呢?

Omicron主導的這一波疫情,在全球多個國家早已在一月底到二月中期間已過了高峰期。越來越多的國家已開放邊境減少或豁免隔離需求。我國國門的開放是遲早要做的事。

我國政府這次提早在38日宣佈這消息,國內的疫情趨勢也逐漸明朗化,政府估計在3-4個星期後疫情也會緩和,也不必再怕外國人把omicron帶進我國我國已多得是。Omicron這一波在我國每日確診數字最高峰時沒有造成醫療系統的太大負擔,預料開放國門以後也一樣。其中一個重要原因是,我國的成年人疫苗接種率達98%,加強針接種率也達三分之二,證明疫苗保護相當有效。若沒有新的變種毒株出現,預料我國的新冠疫情也會過渡到地方流行病階段。

這次政府提早宣佈,也給了人民、政府和各行各業充足的時間準備和調整面對新的措施和政策。這是與以往政府倉促宣佈和落實政策有相當大的差別。因此這次政府的政策宣佈和安排應該得到讚賞。

 

4. 刚刚主要谈到的都是旅游相关行业(也有提到全马接近四分之一的就业人士在从事旅游业)。相信其他行业的人士也会想要知道,这次开放边境,除了旅游相关领域,还会有哪些领域在短期内能够受惠呢?

一般的生意人、企業和專業人士也可以受惠,因為國門開放了就增加舉辦跨國會議和拜訪的可能性和意願,因為減少了繁文縟節。

另外一個更重要的方面是親屬家人和朋友拜訪這能拉近因疫情隔離的關係。


 

5. 那如果现在在看节目的观众有一部分会在想,他既不是旅游相关行业的业者,同时也没有打算出国旅游或深造,是不是政府的这个决策就跟他没有关系呢?国门开与不开,对于这些民众来说生活会受到哪些影响?

是的,對一些民眾來說或許沒有太大影響,但對另一些人,比如說因疫情而分隔兩地的親人家眷來說,國門開放是大好消息。問一問多少因新馬關卡因疫情關閉而受影響的家庭,還有跨國婚姻的家庭。

對於生意圈子或專業領域來說,這個政策的改變或也促成企業重啟跨國交流、拜訪、或會談的做法,或許會有更多的商業活動,這個可以預期。


【第四单元】:

 

6. 为了做到最大程度的防疫,卫生部长凯里星期四有提到,外国游客入境我国必须严格遵守各种 SOP 标准作业程序,包括必须填写准确的资料,不然会受到法律的对付。

 如果一切顺利,外国游客开始涌入我国,万一未来再出现新型变种病毒,政府有什么应变对策?

万一出现需要隔离或遣返的大批人潮,是否也已经做好了相关方面的部署对接?

未來出現新型變種病毒?這個可能性確實不能排除,但沒問題。就如omicron出現的時候,你們很快就可以看到很多國家政府反應迅速封鎖某些國家,局部關起國門來。預料我國政府到時也可以作出反應和調整。

已經入境的訪客就沒關係了,除非是有從哪些訪客偵查到病例,不然也沒有需要隔離訪客。遣返大批人潮更沒需要。

 

7. 只要国门一开,国人真的就能够说走就走吗?出国这件事相比起疫情之前多了什么样的考量?(哪里能去?哪里不能去?世界各国瞬息万变的防疫政策和 SOP、疫苗的种类、金钱上的开销、时间成本方面等等。

國人要出國旅遊或拜訪或公幹,也得密切留意各國的防疫政策與措施,要做足功課,避免碰壁去到了被彈回來。近來聽聞到的消息是有國人去到德國因疫苗種類不被承認而被遣返。

 

9. 国门重开,政府计划接下来如何吸引外资、从商人士、贸易、劳工和人才引进、或马来西亚第二家园计划?

 

政府現在可以做的就是營造國內經濟利好的因素,包括應付通貨膨脹率,減少失業率,重啟各行各業的經濟發展。

一些對國內政治和經濟敏感的外資和生意人,或許會觀望我國的政治發展局勢,包括傳聞今年會舉行的全國大選。或許一些人要等到新政府上台,政治和政策局勢明朗才做決定。


Sunday, March 20, 2022

Omicron peak likely past, say experts (TMI interview - 18 Mar 2022)


THE peak of the Covid-19 Omicron wave may have passed, and this will be clearer in the next two weeks following the Johor elections that was held on Saturday, an infectious disease expert said. 

Dr Lim Chee Han said new cases reported in the next two weeks will show whether the spread of the virus is on a downward trend. 

Lim added that the current Covid-19 situation is different from when Sabah held its elections in September 2020, after which political activities in the run-up to the polls were blamed for causing a new wave of infections.

Lim said at the time of the Sabah polls, Covid-19 was still a “new” virus to authorities; vaccination was not yet available, and campaigning activities had fuelled the spread. 

For the recent Johor polls, he said the timing appears to have been after the worst of the pandemic, which, according to him, was mid-February, well before nomination day and the start of campaigning on February 26.

...

Lim said with the country moving towards endemicity and most economic activities resuming operations, elections cannot be solely blamed for any new infections. 

As long as movement is allowed for people to carry on with business activities and daily life, there will be cases. 

“You can’t pin it all on the elections.” 


Read the full article here: https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/371927

疫情过了高峰期 专家预计州选后病例不反弹 (透视大马采访 3月18日)


 在Omicron疫情浪潮下举行的柔佛州选,至今已累积10名候选人确诊,加上不时传出,助选团违反标准作业程序而接到罚单,令人不禁担忧,会否再一次历史重演,沙巴州选后的疫情蔓延。

柔佛州选于2月26日进行提名,这场被称为史上最激烈的州选,共有239名候选人竞选56个州议席;选民于3月12日进行投票。

感染生物学博士林志翰受访时告诉《透视大马》,柔佛情况与沙巴不同,当初沙巴疫情大爆发原因是,疫情仍处于刚刚崛起阶段。

“所以当时沙巴通过州选的竞选活动,将病毒四处传播。但是,柔佛州在提名之前,即2月中已经出现疫情恶化情况。”

“反之,现在柔佛州的病例已经过了高峰期。不过可能有人会担心,两周后会不会严重反弹?依据目前的情况,是没有很明显迹象。”

根据卫生部数据显示,2月12日柔佛单日新增病例突破3000宗,达3238宗。不过,从3月5日的数据观察,确诊病例都低于3000,甚至下滑至2000宗以下。

分别是3月5日2713宗、6日2348宗、7日2059宗、8日1721宗和9日2986宗。

他认为,只要有经济活动和人潮流动,都会可能导致疫情恶化,所以不能全把矛头指向竞选活动。

“而且据我所知,这次的竞选活动没有想象中热烈,所以相信竞选对疫情带来的影响不会很大。”


这里阅读全文:https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/chinese/s/370888

Friday, March 18, 2022

Malaysia's tourism hinges on reopening (China Daily's interview: 17 March 2022)

 Quote:

Lim Chee Han, a senior researcher at the think tank Third World Network in Kuala Lumpur, said the government has encouraged people to get booster shots even before the start of the Omicron wave. More than 65 percent of Malaysia's adult population have received booster shots as of Wednesday, according to official data.

Vaccination campaign

"Even at the peak of the Omicron-led pandemic wave here in Malaysia, the government can still manage the hospital admission load," Lim said. "The vaccination campaign makes a significant difference in terms of reducing healthcare facilities burden, especially for ICUs and ventilators. This is nothing like the Delta-led pandemic wave back in August last year."

He said unless a new and more infectious variant emerges, Malaysia is not likely to receive imported COVID-19 cases that can seriously threaten its public healthcare system.


Full article here: https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202203/17/WS62328072a310fd2b29e51623.html


***

Question: do you think this is the right time for Malaysia to reopen? Is the country prepared to reopen borders - and it's even timed at the start of Ramadan?

Full response: 

It is only a matter of time, WHEN Malaysia should reopen the borders, given that many countries have already done so. When the National Recovery Council recommended in February for the borders to be reopened in 1 March, many felt that it was too rushed and premature. Indeed, the omicron-led pandemic was just getting the grip in Malaysia and the cases were on the upward trend.

However, when the Prime Minister Ismail Sabri made the announcement on 8 March for the Malaysian borders to reopen on 1 April, the situation was much different. 

First, the announcement was at least 3 weeks ahead for all the coordinations and adjustments to take place. 

2) Given how intensively the government launched the booster vaccine dose campaign prior to the omicron-led wave in Malaysia, now 98.7% of the adult population is fully vaccinated, 65.1% got their booster shot. They should feel more secure facing any possible infection. 

3) Even at the peak of the omicron-led pandemic wave here in Malaysia, the government can still manage the hospital admission load. The vaccination campaign makes a significant difference in terms of reducing healthcare facilities burden, especially for ICU and ventilators. This is nothing like the Delta-led pandemic wave back in August last year. 

4) Looking at the global pandemic trend, most countries, especially in Europe and America, have gotten over the peak of their omicron-wave. Their daily cases are already in decline. Malaysia is going that way too in the weeks to come. Hence, barring any emergence of any newly discovered riskier variant, Malaysia people may not get more covid import cases that could seriously threaten our public healthcare capacity. 


It is in the Prime Minister's intention to let members of Malaysian Family (Keluarga Malaysia - his popular slogan) come back to the country for family reunion before the Eid festival, so with this announcement, it makes things possible, starting from Ramadan month. They have one month to prepare for the return.

Monday, March 14, 2022

Tenancy as a viable and rational affordable housing option in Malaysia

 

The ancient Chinese idiom “yi-shi-zhu-xing” (clothing-food-shelter-transportation) has been long regarded as spelling out the mankind’s basic needs.

It is a constant challenge for many countries and societies to ensure that people live in happiness. A roof over their heads can provide for people’s physical and mental wellness, as well as basic security.

However, in Malaysia, housing often takes the lion’s share of expenditure in the average household.

According to the Household Expenditure Survey 2019 conducted by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, on average, 23.6% of household expenditure was spent on housing, including rental or mortgage as well as utilities bills. In the same year, 77% households in Malaysia are homeowners, while tenants make up for only 20%.

The reality about the housing market in Malaysia is that since 2010, the average prices of houses have doubled.

The average housing prices in a number of states have been identified and categorised by Bank Negara Malaysia as ranging from “moderately unaffordable” to “severely unaffordable”. The latter includes densely populated cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

Despite this people, especially those who just started new families, are often encouraged to buy their own houses.

The government also often promotes its policies that gear towards helping first-time homebuyers to fulfil their “dream”.

However, this is definitely a costly dream for aspiring new families, putting them under the pressure of hefty household debt at such a young age when they are still building their career.

For the past two decades, the average growth rate in salaries and wages could hardly keep up with the steeper growth rate of average housing prices.

Recently, due to the pandemic and war in Ukraine, the economy has gone into recession, and it is getting more difficult for many to successfully apply and secure a mortgage from banks.

In fact, in some countries, which put emphasis on social equality, such as western Europe and Scandinavian countries, home ownership is not necessarily a social norm, nor is it an ideal policy which their governments would specifically promote.

From the homeowner ratio: Germany (51.1%), Austria (55.3%), Denmark (60.8%) and Sweden (64.5%), we can deduce that one-third to half of the households in these countries prefer to rent a house. To them, this could be a rational choice.

Home ownership v tenancy: difference in social values

I spent four years each living in the United Kingdom and Germany while studying abroad.

I deeply resonate with German society’s prevalent housing tenant culture and norm. Compared to the rental price in the UK, Germany was much more affordable for me.

My guiding professor at that time lived in Hannover for almost 20 years. I used to visit his house, which I found out he had been renting all those years.

Considering his salary level and financial capability, he would have been able to purchase a house if he decided to do so. So, why then could his family live calmly and happily in a house they rented for close to 20 years?

I am sure many Malaysians would quickly whip out a calculator, press a few buttons and tell me later that if this happens in Malaysia it would be such a “waste”! If my professor were to take out a bank loan, he might have been able to repay the mortgage soon enough, and be able to “own” the property instead.

This is exactly where social values diverge: housing policy in certain countries is to ensure people could access and afford housing, and not to encourage the rent-seeking and investment-nature of economic activities.

Surely in common Malaysian understanding, people would point out that the professor has “wasted” an opportunity and financial resources by not owning a property.

However, he may have other important considerations. Twenty years ago, he was just a young scientist whose career had just started, and probably he was not well-to-do and financially unstable.

Furthermore, a professional in the field of science would likely prefer to have mobility options, should he meet a great career development opportunity that requires him to move to another city.

Being a tenant gives him considerable freedom and flexibility, for he need not be tied down by a property.

Indeed, shortly after I graduated, that professor was headhunted and promoted by a research institution in Aachen, another city in Germany. He then moved his whole family over to the new city, and consequently was not troubled by property issues.

Legal rights protection crucial for tenants

Germany has a massive tenant population as well as a relatively affordable housing market. This is largely due to laws that confer tenants considerable rights and protection, and at the same time there are some rent control regulations or mechanisms in many states.

Landlords cannot arbitrarily raise housing rent, make unreasonable demands, impose unfair treatment to tenants or force eviction. In return, they could enjoy the certainty and legal protection of their rights as landlords.

In addition to the massive mobile tenant population, landlords need not worry about rental demand or their steady stream of rent income being affected.

In Malaysia, the housing property market is often too skewed towards home ownership, which inadvertently leads to developers having the upper-hand in controlling housing supply and sales.

This also would encourage the larger society to have a mindset that treats housing purchase as a “strategic” financial investment, resulting in distorted housing prices, as well as a mismatched and inefficient housing property market in terms of demand and supply.

The common symptoms of this phenomenon are: (i) long-term growth rate in average housing price outpaces the growth rate in household income; (ii) large number of unsold (or overhang) properties while large demand for housing still persists and lastly, (iii) high decline rate of mortgage applications by banks.

According to statistics by the National Property Information Centre (Napic), in the first half of 2021, there were about 31,000 overhang residential units, of which the states that had the most are Johor, Penang and Selangor.

Paradoxically, most overhang residential units are priced at RM500,000 and below, which took the share of 53.3% (or about 16,500 units). Houses priced at RM300,000 and below contribute to 27.1% of the total share.

Thus, if residential units under the price range of affordable housing could produce such an amount of overhang units, the way to address this problem is that one cannot merely assume that adding more supply in the housing market can be a remedy to satisfy demand.

The need for a unified, standalone tenancy law

To normalise the housing property market and ensure that people can afford housing expenditure, it is high time for the government to look into the rental market, and encourage more people to choose tenancy.

Meanwhile, developers should be encouraged to offer more “rent-to-own” packages.

Hence, the government needs to introduce the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) to ensure fair and reasonable rights to tenants and landlords, so as to address current deficiencies of relying on various laws, which are especially poor and costly at resolving conflicts of tenancy due to lack of mechanism.

These uncertainties of tenancy rights and protection are one of the major factors that deter people from renting a house for the long term, because tenants often face unfair and disadvantageous contract terms, sudden hikes in rent, and unreasonable eviction or contract termination.

Since 2018, the federal government has already conducted research and consulted stakeholders on the RTA.

Last February, the government also published and uploaded the proposed bill’s context and explanation as well as policy research analysis, so as to seek public feedback.

Those who are interested may visit this webpage for more information.

To give credit where it is due, the policy of openness and transparency the government has practised for the RTA deserves praise.

I sincerely hope that the RTA would be a good policy solution for people to afford housing expenditure and live happily as tenants.


92nd article for Agora@TMI column, published on The Malaysian Insight, 14 Mar 2022 

Wednesday, March 09, 2022

保护租户权利,可负担房屋在望

 臉書前言:

我認真讀了政府咨詢公眾的住宅租賃法(Residential Tenancies Act)政策建議書後,有感而發寫了這一篇文章。過去我在德國居住和體驗給我深深體會,為何那裡的房租和屋價比起另外一個我旅居的國家英國便宜,為何德國人口有一半比較喜歡租屋而不是買屋擁屋。對比我國的房屋政策似乎鼓勵人民擁屋但屋價卻讓很多人高攀不起,但是又不甘心只是租屋而已。一些相關的現象是因為畸形的政策引導的社會價值觀造成。所以,這個住宅租賃法RTA來的正是時候,首先要保障租戶的權利,才可以讓人民有個可負擔、有彈性且有保障的房屋選擇。
p/s: 裡面還說了一個有關我德國教授的小故事😉

***

衣食住行,自古以来被视为人类的基本需求,而能让人民安居乐业是很多国家政府和社会的挑战。有遮风挡雨的头顶一瓦能提供人民身心和安全基本保障,可是在我国,家庭开销方面往往居住成本预算最高。根据国家统计局2019年家庭开销调查,平均23.6%的家庭收入用在居住开销,包括租金或银行贷款加上水电费。同年在我国,77%家户是拥屋者,租户仅有20%。

我国的平均房价自2010年以来如今已翻了一倍。多州的平均房价已被国家银行鉴定为“相当”至“极度”不能负担的水平,其中包括密集人口的城市吉隆坡和槟城。尽管如此,人民,尤其是新成家立业人士往往被鼓励购买自己的房子,政府也在政策上常鼓励和协助首购族完成这“梦想”,但这个梦想的代价不菲。

近二十年来,人民平均收入成长呆滞跟不上平均房价的飙涨速度,碰上近来国家经济因疫情而缓慢和萧条,要成功向银行申请贷款更是难上加难。可是在其他国家,特别是一些著重社会平等的西欧和北欧国家,“拥屋梦想”不一定是社会常态,也不是政府特别要鼓吹的理想政策:从家户是拥屋者的比例——德国(51.1%)、奥地利(55.3%),丹麦(60.8%)和瑞典(64.5%)——可看出1/3到一半的家庭选择租屋,而这个选择对他们来说是相当理性的。

拥屋vs租房:社会价值观的不同

我曾在海外深造居留过英国和德国两地,深深体会到德国社会的普遍租户文化和常态。比起英国的租房价,德国相对可负担很多。当时我的指导教授在汉诺威居住了将近20年,我也去拜访过他的家,发现他原来多年来一直是租户。论薪水收入和财务能力,若他想要购房绝对不会是个问题,为何他和家人可以这么淡定地租了近20年的房子呢?

我相信不少大马人会立刻手拨计算机后告诉我,如果在我国这样做是多么地“浪费”啊!如果他向银行贷款可能已差不多快要还清了而能坐拥该房产。

这就是社会价值观的主要不同之处:政府的房屋政策对于一些国家社会来说是为了让人民能安居,而不是鼓励寻租和投资的经济活动。从大马人普遍的观念会认为说我的教授很“浪费”,或许对我的教授来说,20年前他还是事业刚起步的年轻科学家也许财务上并不富裕稳定,而且身为科研人员有可能会碰到事业发展机会而需要迁移其他城市,租房能给他相当大的自由条件,不需要被房产“绑死”。果然,在我毕业了不久后,他被另一个城市亚琛(Aachen)的研究机构挖角升职,他就举家迁移过去,不被房产牵绊。

租户的法律权利保障至关重要

德国之所以能保持相当庞大的租房人口以及相对可负担房屋市场,这得归功于法律上给予租户相当大的权利保障,同时还有各州政府的房租控制法令或机制。屋主不能随意坐地起价房租、不合理对待或驱逐租户,但他们能享有一定的法律保障和确定性,加上庞大的流动租户人口,不需太担心稳定的租金收入受影响。

我国房产市场由于过度倾向拥屋者政策导致发展商竞相建屋销售,而社会普遍把购房当成投资的经济活动,造成畸形、错配失调和欠效率的房产供求市场。这现象的基本症状是:长期平均房价增长率高于同期的国民家庭收入,拥有大量的滞销房产但仍有庞大的房屋需求,同时银行贷款申请拒绝率高。

根据2021上半年的国家房产资讯中心(NAPIC)的数据,大约3万1000间住宅单位滞销,其中滞销单位最多的州属是柔佛、槟城和雪州。吊诡的是,滞销最多的住宅单位价位是50万令吉以下,达53.3%(大约1万6500单位),当中少于30万令吉的就有27.1%。如果可负担房价的住宅都可以有那么多的滞销单位,那么要解决问题不止是纯粹提供更多房屋供应就可以满足需求。

住宅租赁法:统一法令的作用

要正常化这个住宅房产供求市场和确保人民可以负担房屋开销,是时候政府正视房租市场,鼓励更多国人选择租屋,同时更多发展商也应提出“先租后买”(rent-to-own)配套。因此,政府需要端出住宅租赁法(Residential Tenancies Act)来确保租户和屋主公平的权利,解决目前依赖不同法令的不足,特别是缺乏机制处理租约纠纷的局面。而这些情况和权利不确定性正是影响国人长期租屋意愿的最主要因素,因为租户往往面对不公平协约条件,无端房租起价或不合理解约驱逐。

自2018年开始,政府已著手研究和咨询利益相关者有关住宅租赁法,今年2月政府也公开和上载了这法案的内容说明和研究分析,咨询公众意见和反馈。有兴趣者可以游览这个网页以了解更多详情。我赞许和认同政府的做法,相信这个住宅租赁法将会是其中一个有助于人民可负担房屋开销的政策措施。


刊登于《東方日報》《群議良策》專欄2022年3月9日 

【大松绑遇佳节恐推高病例 公卫体系分流减压换空间】(八度空间华语新闻3月9日采访)


节目简介:

对于政府下个月开始大松绑,尤其是批准开放边境公共卫生专家看法两极化。有专家认为,开斋节人口大规模流动,本来就增加传染风险,政府还选在节庆前开放,恐怕会造成病例大爆发,加重医疗体系负担。
不过,另一派的看法是,我国疫情接下来会逐渐缓解,认为政府只需做好医院分流,公卫能量还是能从容地应对入院人数。

脸书链接:这里

***
採訪手稿:

-對政府的防疫大鬆綁,有什麼看法?


說是防疫大鬆綁,其實也不盡然:根據首相的說辭,在公共場合還是得佩戴口罩,登入室內場所還是需要使用mysejahtera。就只是一些措施取消了,比如營業時間限制、場所或員工人數限制、免疫狀況的限制。最大的宣佈還是我國邊境大開放無需隔離的政策。


距離所謂的大鬆綁還有大約3個星期的時間,omicron主導的疫情走勢似乎已看得出一些端倪,而全球疫情走勢更為明顯。早期疫情嚴重的國家如歐洲和美國都已過了確診高峰,遲來的日本和韓國也在近來剛過了確診病例高峰。這次政府提早宣佈和通知,或許也可說吸取了過往兩年的經驗教訓,讓各部門和人民能準備和調適措施轉變。


經過我對疫情走勢的觀察和分析,我認為這次政府的政策可行。



-现在每天的新增病例还是保持在过万水平,下个月大鬆綁是否恰當?


坦白說,目前的新增確診病例數字應該可能更高,只是很多沒有向當局或在mysejahtera裡報告而已。我也知道昨天通報的數字依然相當高,超過3萬宗病例


現在政府關注和嚴正看待的是入院率、重症加護病房入住率和死亡數字 – 這些已成為新指標衡量疫情是否嚴重,醫療系統是否能負擔。確診病例政府可以錯過,但剛才說的3組數字當局就會捕捉記錄到。


目前的新增病例和其他的數字組透露了omicron主導的疫情已在最高峰,醫療系統這次縱使病毒易傳廣傳確實也沒有告急。在人民普遍上已接種了疫苗,連加強劑都打了,3個星期後疫情開始消退時,政府也沒有什麼理由說不要鬆綁,畢竟人民該配合的都已配合了。



-這波大開放會不會引發單日確診大爆發,造成醫療體系負擔?


不同於慕尤丁提出國家邊境大開放的時候,4月1日的開放是可以和能夠控制的。可以預見的是那時的單日確診數字已下跌了,即使是現在在疫情確診數字的最高峰,我國的醫療系統還不會太過負擔,預料4月後即使會有些反彈應該也不會太嚴重。


再說,由於我國的邊防防疫,我國的omicron疫情比起很多國家達到高峰遲了至少一個月。歐洲、美洲和東南亞的疫情高峰出現在1月底,如今已明顯走下坡。所以,3個星期後的全球疫情應該預料會變得更好,而不是更糟。因此,開放邊境門戶不應該對我國疫情造成更大的負面影響,因為omicron早已在我國到處散播,除非又出現另一波新的變種病毒侵犯。





-完成疫苗接种入境后不需要隔离,只需入境前後篩檢,可是病毒有潛伏期,这个新措施是不是很冒险?


如果說是目前流行omicron病毒,該病毒的潛伏期較短,通常在第三天應該可以偵查到,所以目前的措施要求入境前兩天的篩檢,和入境後1天的篩檢,雖然不是滴水不漏和最理想的防疫政策,因為乘客還可以在旅途過程中遇到感染,但這或許是個兼顧乘客方便和經濟考量的平衡妥協。



-政府下個月進入大鬆綁時,有什麼要注意的事項?


防疫責任漸漸地來到個人 – 我們需時時刻刻保持防疫和衛生意識。若能,一旦出現可疑症狀或接觸了確診認識就應該自我篩檢,該自我隔離的時候就該遵循,不要因為自己的利益而讓其他人暴露在感染風險當中。自己也應該通過mysejahtera向衛生當局通報病情,並了解和遵循指示。一旦發現自己或家人的病情惡化,趕快送往就醫。

【下班忙什么】0401国境重开!大马将迎来什么挑战?(CityPlus FM 3月9日採訪)

 

节目简介

首相依斯迈沙比利昨日召开新闻发布会,宣布我国将在04月01日过渡到地方性流行病阶段。政府也放宽了大部分的措施,包括废除商店的营业时间限制、户外场所不必MySJ打卡等等,还有最重要的开放国门!

在政府宣布“过渡到地方性流行病阶段”,是否意味冠病已成为地方性流行病了呢?民众的防疫准则是否也有所改变?国门打开我们需要承担的隐患又是什么呢?

嘉宾:梅凤鸣(马大医学院社会与预防医学系教授),林志翰博士(群议社政策研究员)

主持人:Emily Ng 黃佩玲 & 舒敏

Podcast: 这里

脸书直播和留言:这里