A CASE STUDY OF MALAY'SQUATTERS
IN KUALA LUMPUR
Thesis
submitted fo r the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
to the University of London
by
Azizah bte Kassim
School of Oriental & African Studies
January 1935
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This th e sis is an attem pt to s tu d y local level p o litics
among th e u rb a n p o o r, i .e . the s q u a tte rs in Kuala
L um pur, th e cap ital city of Malaysia, b y focusing a tte n tio n on a Malay s q u a tte r community in a squatm ent in th e so u th w estern p a r t of th e city and exam ining th e ir s tru g g le to re ta in th e ir illegally occupied land an d th e ir attem pt to improve th e ir liv in g conditions in th e squatm ent in th e face of an ap p a re n tly u n sy m p ath etic u rb a n b u re a c ra c y .
The s tu d y is prom pted b y O scar Lewis’ th e o ry of 'c u ltu re of p o v e r ty ’ an d th e concept of m arginality an d it is th e contention of th is th e sis th a t th e Malay s q u a tte r s a re n e ith e r m arginal n o r do th e y ex h ib it tr a its of Lewis' ’c u ltu re of p o v e r ty ’; th e y are su fficien tly well o rg an ised at th e community level which acco u n ts for th e ir su ccess in achieving some of th e ir communal goals and such su ccess is a ttrib u ta b le to th e ir close association with politicians from th e p a rty in po w er.
The th e sis c o n sists of eight c h a p te r s . C h ap ter I, th e in tro d u c tio n , o u tlin es th e aims an d scope of the th e s is , its p ro b le m s, th e o re tic a l o rien tatio n an d p ro v id es a b r ie f b ack g ro u n d of th e c o u n try and its people. C h a p te r II tra c e s the h isto ric a l developm ent of s q u a ttin g in P en in su lar Malaysia (form erly Malaya) with special refe re n c e to th e em ergence of s q u a ttin g among Malays in Kuala L um pur. C h ap ter III exam ines the developm ent of th e squatm ent u n d e r s tu d y an d th e s q u a tte r s ’ initial involvem ent with
political p a r tie s . C h a p te r IV deals with the s q u a tte r
community, its economy and social n e tw o rk s. C h a p te r V ta k e s a look a t th e s q u a tte r s ’ relatio n sh ip with th e U nited Malays National O rganisation (UMNO), th e predom inant
p a r ty in th e ru lin g Barison Nasional (National F ro n t)
betw een 1967 an d 1977. C h a p te r VI exam ines the b a sis of th e s q u a tte r s ’ dep en d en cy on UMNO and th e e x ch an g es ta k in g place betw een them , while C h a p te r VII looks a t th e role of th e political p a r ty in community org an isatio n of th e s q u a tte r s . C h ap ter V III, th e conclusion, summ arises th e fin d in g s of th e th e s is , com pares th e Malay s q u a tte rs with th o se of o th e r eth n ic g ro u p s and ex plains th e n a tu re of th e re latio n sh ip betw een th e s q u a tte rs an d UMNO in term s of political p a r ty p a tro n a g e .
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
F irs t and forem ost I wish to re c o rd my sin ce re ap p reciatio n an d p ro fo u n d g ra titu d e to my s u p e rv is o r, Dr
Andrew T u rto n , for h is k in d help and p a in sta k in g
guidance in the p re p a ra tio n of th is th e sis and fo r th e g re a t to lerance and u n d e rsta n d in g th a t he h as shown me in all the y e a rs th a t I have b een u n d e r his su p e rv isio n . I was fa r from b eing a model su p e rv ise e : as a fo reig n s tu d e n t my E nglish was fa r from p e rfe c t, as a wife an d m other of th re e grow ing c h ild re n , my work p a tte r n was often e rra tic an d in th e la st th re e y e a rs or so, as I was called back b y my em ployer to resum e d u tie s, I h av e h ad to sh u ttle back and fo rth betw een Kuala Lum pur an d London. I must have given Dr T u rto n a v e ry difficu lt and try in g time b u t he h a s shown n o th in g b u t patien ce and k in d n e ss and was always re a d y to help with my problem s.
N ex t, I wish to th an k my em ployer, th e U n iv e rsity of
Malaya, fo r g ra n tin g me a th re e -y e a r s tu d y -le a v e
(1978-1981) to enable me to do my Ph.D in London, alth o u g h th e th e sis itse lf took co n sid erab ly lo n g er th a n th re e y e a rs to com plete.
To all th e people of Kampung Selamat, especially my s q u a tte r re s p o n d e n ts , I owe a special debt of g ra titu d e o r ,
in th e ir term s terhutong bu di, not only for le ttin g me p r y
into th e ir lives in o rd e r to obtain data fo r th is th e s is , b u t more especially fo r th e warmth with which th e y welcomed me an d took me to th e ir bosom, so much so th a t I now feel g re a t attachm ent to an d a sense of affin ity with them .
My fieldw ork would have b een w ell-nigh impossible without th e help and a ssista n c e of governm ent o fficials,
especially th o se at City Hall, who sometimes went out of
th e ir way to help m e, and politicians from b o th th e
governm ent an d opposition p a r tie s , who gave th e ir views
fre e ly . In th is connection I must also re c o rd my
ap p reciatio n fo r th e serv ices re n d e re d b y some of my s tu d e n ts in th e D epartm ent of A nthropology and Sociology, U n iv ersity of Malaya, as 're se a rc h a s s is ta n ts ' at some stag e of my fieldw ork.
I wish also to e x p re ss my sin cere th a n k s to P ro fesso r
Khoo Kay Kim, Head of th e D epartm ent of H isto ry ,
U n iv ersity of Malaya, fo r re a d in g th ro u g h th e h isto rical
sections of th e th e sis and to P ro fesso r A C o h en ,
D epartm ent of A nthropology and Sociology, and Dr Nigel
P hillips, D epartm ent of S outheast Asia and th e Isla n d s , of
th e School of O riental and A frican S tu d ies, fo r h a v in g k in d ly re a d th e e n tire th e sis in its final d r a f t, an d also fo r th e ir valuable comments an d su g g e stio n s. I am in d eb ted to th e se d istin g u ish e d sc h o la rs, b u t fo r all e r r o r s and shortcom ings th a t may be found in th is th e sis I alone am re s p o n s ib le .
L a stly , I must re c o rd my p ro fo u n d g ra titu d e to my h u s b a n d , w ithout whose u nfailing s u p p o rt an d co n sta n t encouragem ent none of all th is would have b een p o ssib le. As a token of my appreciation fo r e v e ry th in g th a t he h as done fo r me an d also for th e tolerance and u n d e rsta n d in g shown b y my c h ild re n when I n eg lected my m otherly d u ties th ro u g h o u t th e P h.D program m e, I dedicate th is work to my h u s b a n d , Zainal Abidin B ador and to o u r th re e b o y s: Zain A zh ari, Zain A l-F ikri and Zain A l-A sh raf.
Azizah Kassim 1 Ja n u a ry 1985.
V CONTENTS S u m m a r y... ii A ck n ow l ed gm en t... iii List of C o n t e n t s... v T a b l e s... vii F i g u r e s... viii A b b r e v i a t i o n s... ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1 The Aims an d Scope of th e S t u d y ... 1
1.2 The P r o b le m s ... 4
1.3 Significance of th e S t u d y ... 10
1.4 T heoretical O r ie n ta tio n ... 14
1.5 M e th o d o lo g y ... 24
1.6 West Malaysia: A G eneral B ackground . . . . 33
II. SQUATTING IN WEST MALAYSIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KUALA LUMPUR: AN OVERVIEW 40 2.1 S q u a ttin g in West Malaysia: A H istorical P ersp e c tiv e ... 40
2.2 Malay T raditional Mode of Land A cquisition 50 2.3 The Malays: From S e ttle rs to S q u a tte rs . . . 52
2.4 In te rn a l M igration and U rban S q u a ttin g b y M a la y s ... 60
2.5 S q u a ttin g in Kuala Lum pur: (a ) E arly S q u a tte rs in Kuala L u m p u r 63 (b ) S q u a ttin g in Kuala Lum pur in th e P o st-In d ep en d en ce E r a ... 67
(c) The Em ergence and In crease of Malay S q u a tte rs in Kuala Lum pur . . . . 70
(d ) The P re se n t S tate of S q u a ttin g in Kuala Lum pur: Size & Ethnic Dis trib u tio n ... 78
III. THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF KAMPUNG SELAMAT AND THE POLITICALISATION OF THE SQUATTERS ... 85
3.1 Paving th e Way fo r a Squatm ent: The Demise of a T raditional Malay Kampung . . . 85
3.2 The Making of a Squatm ent: Kampung S e la m a t... 94
3.3 Politicalisation of th e S q u a t t e r s ... 107
3.4 Early Development of Kampung Selamat . . . 117
3.5 Kampung Selamat Today: (a) Its P hysical C h a r a c te r is tic s ... 126
(b ) Available A m e n itie s ... 135
(c) Social S e r v i c e s ... 138
IV. THE SQUATTER COMMUNITY: ITS ECONOMY
AND SOCIAL NETWORKS ... 155
4 .1 . The S q u a tte r C o m m u n ity ... 155
(a) The S q u a tte r Family and H ousehold . . . 159
(b ) E x tra H ousehold T i e s ... 163
4.2 The S q u a tte rs ' E c o n o m y ... 172
(a) Income an d O c c u p a tio n ... 174
(b ) E x p e n d itu re an d Consumption P a tte rn s 214 4.3 The Economy an d Social N e tw o r k s ... 224
4.4 Im plications of th e S q u a tte rs ' Social N e tw o r k s ... 227
V. POLITICS, POLITICAL PARTIES AND PARTY DEPENDENCEY IN KAMPUNG SELAMAT (1967-1977) ... 231
5.1 S q u a tte r P o l i t i c s ... 231
5.2 The S q u a tte rs ’ Association with UMNO -The E arly S t a g e ... 242
5.3 The P a rty B ran ch in Kampung S e la m a t 251
V I. THE POLITICAL PARTY AND EXTRA COMMUNITY RELA TIO N S... 267
6.1 The S q u a tte rs ’ Reasons for S u stain in g UMNO ... 268
(a ) Demographic C h a n g e s ... 268
(b ) U tilitarian A ttitu d e to P o l i t i c s ... 270
(c) Ethnic C onsiderations ... 277
(d ) C hanges in Governm ent A ttitu d es to S q u a t t e r s ... 285
6.2 The Local P a rty M achinery and E x tra -. Community R elations-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. 292
(a) Communal Goals: A Question of P rio rity 301 (b ) P ro c e d u re s fo r A cquiring A ssistance an d M eeting Communal G o a ls ... 307
(c) Political B ro k ers and Individual Goals . 316 V II. THE POLITICAL PARTY AND COMMUNITY ORGANISATION ... 322
7.1 Local Power S t r u c t u r e ... 322
7.2 Community A c tiv itie s ... 331
(a) The Religious School and K inder g a rte n ... 334
(b ) Women's Religious and Home Science C l a s s e s ... 338
(c) Occasional A c tiv itie s ...344
7.3 N on-Political Community A c tiv itie s ...347
7.4 Conflicts an d Conflict Resolution ...355
V III. CONCLUSION... 365
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 387
V l l
TABLES
Table 1. S q u a tte rs in Kuala Lum pur betw een
1951 an d 1979 ... 69
Table 2. Population Growth in Kuala Lum pur
with Racial Composition & D ensity
1891-1980 ... 72
Table 3. D istrib u tio n of S q u a tte rs in 1978 b y
E th n icity & C o n s titu e n c y ... 82
Table 4. Breakdow n of Squatm ents according
to Ethnic C ategory (1978) ... 82
Table 5. Main O ccupation of All Working A dults
b y E m p lo y e r... 176
Table 6. Main O ccupation of All Working A dults
b y Sex ... 177
Table 7. Main O ccupation of Household H e a d s 178
Table 8. Monthly Income of Household Heads and
Combined Household In c o m e ... 212
Table 9. S q u a tte rs Income Compared to Basic Pay
in th e Public Sector ( 1 9 8 0 ) ... 213
Table 10. Levels of Education of A dult Population . . . 213
Table 11. P rices of F oodstuffs in th e Squatm ent
Open M arket an d Petaling Jay a and
Kuala L u m p u r ... 216
Table 12. An Estim ate of Basic Monthly E x p e n d itu re
in a S q u a tte r H o u s e h o ld ... 217
Table 13. Perform ance of th e Ruling B arisan Nasional
in th e 1974 & 1979 G eneral E le c tio n s 288
Table 14. Socio-Economic S ta tu s of Political
FIGURES
F ig u re 1. Location of West M a la y sia ... 38
F ig u re 2. Political and A dm inistrative Divisions
of West M a la y sia ... 39
F ig u re 3. Location of Kampung Selamat within
th e F ed eral T e rrito ry Parliam entary
C o n s titu e n c ie s ... 127
F ig u re 4. Kampung Selamat: P hysical L a y o u t 128
F ig u re 5. Kampung Selamat: Location in Relation
to Employment C en tres with 3 Miles
R adius ... 129
F ig u re 6. S tages in Imrovements of S q u a tte rs '
H o u s e s ... 130 F ig u re 7. Families from Ulu P e r a k ... 165 F ig u re 8. Families from K lang, S e la n g o r ... 166
F ig u re 9. Families From B atang B e rju n tai,
S e la n g o r ... 167 F ig u re 10. Kampung Selamat UMNO B ranch within
th e National P a rty H i e r a r c h y ... 255 F ig u re 11. O rganisational S tru c tu re of th e Local
P a rty B r a n c h ... 294 F ig u re 12. Dynamics of P a rty P a t r o n a g e ... 383
ABBREVIATIONS
UMNO U nited Malays National O rganisation
MCA Malaysian Chinese Association
MIC Malaysian Indian C ongress
DAP Democratic Action P a rty
PMIP Pan-M alaysian Islamic P a rty
G erakan G erakan R akyat Malaysia (Malaysian
P eoples' Movement)
B erjasa B arisa n Jum a'atul Islamiah (T he Muslim
F r o n t)
UPP Unit P en g u atk u asa Perum ahan (H ousing
Enforcem ent Unit)
AGM A nnual G eneral Meeting
FTRD F ed eral T e rrito ry Religious (Islam )
D epartm ent
GRPC G eneral R eport of Population C ensus
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Aim and Scope of th e S tu d y .
The stu d y co n cern s a p a rtic u la r group of th e u rb a n p o o r, i .e . th e s q u a tte r s , most of whom a re of p easan t o rig in an d who have m igrated to the capital city of M alaysia, Kuala Lum pur, in th e last two decades or so. The focus of a tten tio n is on th e ir s tru g g le s to cope with u rb a n life especially in th e ir attem pts to re ta in th e land th e y occupy illegally, to seek legal rig h ts on th e said land and to gain access to basic u rb a n am enities an d social
s e rv ic e s . Inasm uch as th is stu d y concerns th e ways and
means b y which th e se s q u a tte rs attain th e ir g o als, th e s tu d y is about p o litics, prim arily local-level p o litic s. The aim is to examine how goals a re identified and s tra te g ie s as to how th e se goals a re to be a tta in e d , are form ulated.
West Malaysia h as a m ulti-ethnic population com prising mainly M alays, Chinese an d Indians (see section 1 .6 ). Each
of th e se ethnic categ o ries h as its sh a re of u rb a n
s q u a tte r s . This s tu d y , how ever, confines its e lf only to Malay s q u a tte r s in Kuala Lum pur, also known since 1974, as th e F ed eral T e rrito ry . It concerns only West Malaysia or P en in su lar M alaysia.
T his re se a rc h was u n d e rta k e n in th e lig h t of grow ing c o n cern on th e p a r t of th e ce n tral g o v ern m en t. of M alaysia, th e sta te governm ent and th e local a u th o ritie s in v ario u s tow ns o v er th e u n p re c e d e n te d increase in th e num ber of u rb a n s q u a tte rs in almost e v e ry major town o r sta te cap ita l. Except in Kuala L um pur, w here th e in crea se in
s q u a ttin g h as been p a rtic u la rly g re at since 1960, no
com prehensive s u rv e y s on sq u a ttin g have b een done to enum erate th e s q u a tte r s . N ev erth eless, random s u rv e y s
2
-and b rie f stu d ie s have been c a rrie d out an d b ase d on th e se estim ates of th e s q u a tte r population have been a rriv e d a t. Wegelin estim ates th a t in Alor S ta r, th e capital
of th e sta te of K edah, s q u a tte rs form 3.3% of the
p opulation; in George Town (P enang) 5.5%; in K uantan
(P ah an g ) 4.1%, Kelang (S elangor) 4.2% an d in Kuala
T re n g g a n u (T re n g g a n u ) 5.0% (1979:94). In Kuala Lum pur,
th e p e rc e n ta g e of s q u a tte rs in relation to its to tal
population h a s , in th e la st ten y e a rs , rem ained on av erag e 25% (see Table 1, C h a p te r I I ) . The capital is one area
w here u rb a n s q u a ttin g is most noticeable an d most
problem atical to th e a u th o ritie s .
The p ro liferatio n of s q u a tte r areas in major tow ns in Malaysia coincides with th e implementation of su ccessiv e developm ent program m es, known generally as Five Y ear P la n s, b y th e p o st-in d ep en d en ce governm ent in its attem pt to r e s tr u c tu r e th e socio-economic imbalance in th e c o u n try .
F irs t launched in 1960, p a r t of th e se developm ent
program m es involves u rb a n expansion and in d u stria liza tio n an d seek s to b rin g into tow ns th e indigenous Malays who w ere p re v io u s ly , d u rin g th e colonial p e rio d , confined to th e r u ra l a re a s . E xpansion of th e governm ent b u re a u c ra c y , estab lish m en t of in stitu tio n of h ig h e r le a rn in g an d th e c o n stru c tio n of facto ries in th e u rb a n c e n tr e s , among o th e r
th in g s , c re a te ample employment o p p o rtu n itie s which
a ttr a c t la rg e scale m igration from the c o u n try s id e , w here socio-economic developm ents are confined larg ely to th e p rovision of some basic am enities and social se rv ic e s and
th e expansion of p e a sa n t farm ing and w here jobs with
re g u la r income a re sc a rc e . This flow of r u r a l lab o u r into th e u rb a n a re a s h a s not b een matched b y p ro v isio n of n e c e s sa ry basic am enities to accommodate th e new com ers. The re s u lt is in su ffic ie n t in fr a - s tr u c tu re c re a tin g enorm ous
problem s both to th e u rb a n au th o ritie s an d to th e new
a rriv a ls them selves. The main problem is h o u sin g . The homeless r e s o r t to th e illegal occupation of v acan t lan d on
iron roofing which th ey call rumah (lit. house a n d /o r
hom e). T hey become known as setinggan ( s q u a tte r s )
ad d in g to th e num ber of s q u a tte rs alread y p re v a le n t in th e tow ns b efo re ru ra l- u rb a n m igration b eg an (se e C h a p te r
I I ) . T h e ir h o u sin g conglom erations become known as
kampung setinggan ( s q u a tte r v illa g e s). As time goes on
th e se new setinggan a re joined b y some o p p o rtu n ist
s q u a tte r s who occupy lan d illegally, not out of n e ce ssity b u t fo r p u rp o se s of p ro fite e rin g such as b y c o n s tru c tin g h ouses fo r re n t or sale. The num ber of th ese o p p o rtu n ist
s q u a tte r s is small. In Kuala Lum pur, official so u rces
(1980) believe th e y account fo r only 6% of th e one q u a r te r million s q u a tte r s in th e c ity . The m ajority of th e s q u a tte rs occupy land illegally out of n ecessity and th e y a re th e main focus of th is s tu d y .
The main concern h e re is th e s q u a tte rs of Kuala L um pur, especially th o se in th e squatm ent of Kampung Selam at, one of th e 200 s q u a tte r villages in th e cap ita l. The cap ital city was chosen for a num ber of r e a s o n s . F irs tly , b y v irtu e of b ein g th e c e n tre of g o v ern m en t, th e n e rv e c e n tre fo r in d u s try and commerce, th e main location fo r in stitu tio n s of h ig h e r learn in g and th e f ir s t town in th e c o u n try to have a satellite town b u ilt in th e fiftie s to site in d u s tr ie s , it is th e place w here most jobs a re to be fo u n d . Hence its a ttra c tio n fo r the p e a sa n ts, which in tu r n acco u n ts fo r the la rg e st co n cen tratio n of u rb a n s q u a tte r s . Secondly, th e capital was chosen fo r p rac tica l re a so n s. The w rite r lives and w orks in Kuala L um pur, about one mile away from th e n e a re s t squatm ent which facilitated close an d continuous r e s e a rc h .
The w rite r was in d u ced to focus a tte n tio n on th e Malay s q u a tte r s b y th e following co n sid eratio n s:
4
-c o u n te rp a rts in th e -city are larg ely re -c en t a rriv a ls (see C h ap te r I I ) . T hey a re in th e p ro cess of a d ju stin g and ad ap tin g to th e ir new social and physical en v iro n m e n ts. It would be in te re s tin g to d iscover th e k in d of mechanisms and s tra te g ie s th e y employ in th e ir attem pt to fin d a niche for them selves in th e u rb a n co n tex t.
(b ) The case of th e Malay s q u a tte rs d eserv e s c ru tin y to draw th e a tte n tio n of th e u rb a n au th o ritie s and o th e rs to th e ir p lig h t as a re s u lt of th e ir am biguous position v is -a -v is la n d . They p rid e them selves in b ein g th e indigenous g ro u p ,
th e Bumiputra ( lit. th e sons of th e soil) an d a re so
recognized b y th e governm ent (see Section 1 .6 ); an d th e Malays believe th e y have inalienable r ig h ts to th e lan d by v irtu e of th e ir custom ary land laws (see C h a p te r I I ) . Yet th e y fin d them selves w ithout land an d are fo rced to s q u a t, su b jec te d to h a rra ssm e n t and se rv e d with eviction notices b y th e au th o ritie s from time to time.
(c) The Malay s q u a tte rs a re generally re la tiv e ly p o o r, with an av erag e income much lower th an th e s q u a tte r s of o th e r ethnic g ro u p s , v iz . th e Chinese and In d ia n s (see C h ap ter IV ).
(d ) The p re se n c e of th e Malay s q u a tte rs in larg e num bers in th e capital h as im portant political im plications fo r in te r-e th n ic re latio n s in Kuala Lum pur an d fo r th e co u n try as a whole.
(e) V ery little anthropological work h as b een done on u rb a n M alays, less still on Malay s q u a tte r s .
1.2 The Problems
The w rite r s ta r te d h e r fieldw ork in th e squatm ents in O ctober 1980 with th e in ten tio n of te stin g th e v alid ity of
fieldw ork p ro g re s se d it soon became clear th a t none of the c h a ra c te ris tic s of th e said c u ltu re p rev ailed among the s q u a tte r s . T hey h a d , as will be explained in C h a p te r IV, stab le n u clear an d ex te n d e d families, h ad s tro n g sanctions ag ain st consensual un io n s and early initiation to se x ; and
at th e community lev el, were well org an ized and not
d isen g ag ed from th e w ider so ciety . At th e level of the in d iv id u al, v e ry few showed sig n s of fatalism , p re s e n t time o rien tatio n o r many of th e o th e r perso n al c h a ra c te ris tic s of th e individual in th e "c u ltu re of p o v e rty " . At th is point th e w rite r decided to change h e r approach to th e su b je c t. In ste a d of e n q u irin g into th e absence of th e " c u ltu re of p o v e rty " , it was th o u g h t more a p p ro p ria te to examine th e s q u a tte rs in a p o sitive m anner, i .e . to seek explanations as to how th ey o rg an ized them selves at th e family and community level so th a t some k in d of u n ity was achieved which in tu r n enabled them to re s is t eviction an d to influence th e a u th o ritie s to adopt and implement policies fav o u rab le tow ards them .
T h at th e s q u a tte r s were able to influence decision
m akers at th e su p ra-lo cal level to act in th e ir fav o u r was
evidenced b y th e ir v e ry p resen ce and by th e fact th a t th e y were receiv in g h an d o u ts from th e a u th o ritie s in the form of public am enities and social s e rv ic e s , as will be made explicit in C h a p te rs V, VI and V II. The a u th o ritie s could have rem oved them each time th e y n eeded th e land illegally occupied b y th e s q u a tte rs fo r p h y sical u rb a n
developm ent. T hey h av e th e pow ers to p ro se c u te th e
s q u a tte rs b y v irtu e of such legislation as the 1963 Kuala Lum pur F ederal C apital (C learance of S q u a tte rs ) B y-L aw s, an d th e Amendments to th e Municipal Act 1963 (No. 16 of
1967); Section 342(A) of th e Municipal O rdinance dealing with clearance of a re a s; Section 425 of th e 1965 National Land Code and th e 1969 Em ergency O rdinance (S e n , M.K.
6
-1969:12; C ity Hall, 1978). The p resen ce of th e s q u a tte rs in v e ry la rg e num bers p ro v ed th a t th e a u th o ritie s h a d not u tilized such po w ers, and if th e y h a d , such pow ers h ad not b een u tilized fu lly .
Social sc ie n tists in Malsysia qu ite often explain th e p re se n ce and p ro liferatio n of s q u a tte rs in Kuala Lum pur in term s of th e g o v ern m en t's inability to cope with th e
problem s imposed b y th e r u ra l-u rb a n d r if t. T hey
a ttrib u te th e phenomenon to th e go v ern m en t's lack of p lan n in g and in efficien cy . While th e re a re some elem ents of t r u t h in th is so rt of a n a ly sis, th e w rite r feels th a t it is w rong to assum e th a t th e s q u a tte rs a re in effectu al a c to rs in th e u rb a n s c e n e . T hey a re a force which influences governm ent decisions especially in m atters re la tin g to its policy on s q u a ttin g . Some of them re sis te d ev ictio n , fou g h t th e a u th o ritie s and won. T hey show sufficient in g e n u ity in ex p loiting th e system and in devising s tra te g ie s to h in d e r th e a u th o ritie s from im plementing the law fu lly .
The local a u th o rity in Kuala Lum pur, p re v io u sly known as th e F ed eral C apital Commission and since 1972 as th e C ity H all, was often q u ite forceful in e x e rcisin g its pow ers to evict s q u a tte r s . In th e six ties when th e ra p id expansion of s q u a tte r settlem ents b eg an to be n o ticed , such a c tio n s, as v e rifie d by th e form er Chief M inister of S elangor (th e sta te in which Kuala Lum pur was before it became th e
F ed eral T e rrito ry in 1974) were ram p an t. The local
a u th o rity viewed th e expansion of sq u a ttin g b y th e re c e n t u rb a n m igrants with alarm and ap p reh en sio n an d th e ir
a ttitu d e s tow ards th e la tte r can be d esc rib e d as
u n sy m p a th e tic , in to le ra n t an d at times h o stile . The v e ry name of th e f ir s t governm ent committee to deal with th e
s q u a tte r s , i .e . th e S q u a tte r C learance Committee is
in d icativ e of such an a ttitu d e . O ther evidence in clu d es a re p o rt b y S en, M.K. (1969) on behalf of th e M inistry of
Local Governm ent and Housing w hich, among o th e r th in g s , re fe r s to th e s q u a tte r are a s as " . . . seedbeds fo r t h u g s , se c re t societies and o th e r ra c k e te e rs . . . " an d th a t the
p ractice and expansion of s q u a ttin g M . . . challenges the
s ta tu s of governm ent as agencies for m aintaining law and
o rd e r; . . . re s u lts in an in crease in crim e, juvenile
delinquency and a wide v a rie ty of ‘social problem s . . . loss of su b sta n tia l re v e n u e s . . . to the governm ent; . . . a ffe c ts th e physical developm ent of Kuala Lum pur . . . it econom ic, social and political s ta b ility ; . . . in h ib its economic grow th
and in v estm en t; . . . an d re d u c e s its (K uala L um pur’s)
image b o th at home an d o v e rse as . . . ” (S e n , M.K. 1969:2).
Such bein g th e views of th e a u th o ritie s about
s q u a ttin g , it is not s u rp ris in g th a t many s q u a tte r s were se rv e d with eviction notices and s q u a tte r demolition sq u ad s
were often deployed to d e stro y n ew ly-built s q u a tte r
h o u se s. Many squatm ents were wiped o u t; some, how ever, su rv iv e d th e se eviction and demolition e x e rc ise s.
Since 1975, th e re seems tin h a v e been a ^change in th e a ttitu d e of th e c e n tra l governm ent and th e local a u th o rity
tow ards th e s q u a tte r s . The T h ird Malaysia Plan
(1975-1980) made some pro v isio n s for th e socio-economic im provem ents of th e s q u a tte rs in th e cap ital. The C ity Hall in 1978 p u b lish ed a re p o rt outlining its program m e to overcome th e s q u a tte r problem s. This r e p o rt, like th e one in 1969, still m anifests th e intolerance and n eg ativ e view th e officials in th e governm ent b u re a u c ra c y h ad of th e s q u a tte r s ^ The s q u a tte r settlem ents are d escrib ed almost in th e same term s as th e y were in 1969. The 1978 re p o rt d e sc rib e s them a s ,
(a ) " . . . b re e d in g g ro u n d s for crim inals, d ru g a d d ic ts, su b v e rsiv e and an ti-n a tio n al a c tiv itie s,"
8
-a b -ase for -activ ities which c-an th re -a te n th e st-ab ility of th e c o u n try and th e n a tio n ."
(c) " . . . where d an g ero u s d isea ses such as denggi and d y s e n try o rig in a te ."
(d ) " . . . which h in d e rs th e physical developm ent of Kuala Lum pur . . . " (1 978:8-9).
The s q u a tte rs according to th e r e p o rt, b ecau se of th e ir in creasin g num bers a re bold enough to challenge th e governm ent an d th e law of the c o u n try . In view of th is th e re p o rt s tre s s e d th e need fo r positive action to seek
solutions to th e s q u a tte r s 1 problem . A hum anitarian
approach to th e problem was p ro p o sed and la te r accepted as a g u iding p rin c ip le in all official dealings with th e s q u a tte r s . T h e re is th e re fo re a change in ta c tic s on th e p a r t of th e governm ent and th e City Hall. T h is, h o w ever, does not mean th a t th e a u th o rities now condone s q u a ttin g (see C h a p te r VI ). On th e c o n tra ry , th e s q u a tte rs a re now p u t u n d e r s tr ic t control and su p erv isio n u n d e r a specially
form ed u n it in C ity Hall, i .e . th e UPP, Unit Penguatkuasa
Perumohan ( lit. Housing Enforcem ent U n it). The UPP
form ulate an d impose ru le s and re g u latio n s to c u rb th e ir
geographical and dem ographic expansion and employ
h u n d re d s of field officers to p atro l th e sq u atm en ts daily from 9.00 a. m. till 7.00 p . m. to e n su re th a t th e se ru le s an d reg u latio n s a re o b se rv e d fully.
D espite th e se m easu res, th e num ber of s q u a tte rs in c re ased an d so did th e acreage tak en b y them . A ctivities c o n tra ry to th e new ru le s and reg u latio n s su ch as house im provem ents, co n stru c tio n of new ho u ses and occupation of new land c o n tin u e, especially d u rin g th e few weeks p re ce d in g a g en eral election. Sometimes such activ ities are
v
done u n d e r th e v e ry ey es of th e UPP field o ffic e rs. Not only t h a t, some sections of th e s q u a tte r population are now bein g given basic am enities and social se rv ic e s b y some
governm ent a g e n c ie s , including th e City Hall whose e x p re s s p u rp o se is to get rid of the s q u a tte rs because of th e problem s th e y pose to physical u rb a n ex p an sio n , e tc . How is all th is possible? How can the s q u a tte rs b re a k th e ru le s and re g u la tio n s with such ap p aren t im punity? Why do th e local a u th o rity a p p e a r to be so c h a rita b le to th e s q u a tte rs who, as th e y d escrib e in th e 1978 r e p o r t, " . . . pay no r e n t . . . an d c re a te social, economic and political problem s . . . " for them?
The' w rite r believes th a t the s q u a tte r s ' ability to
defeat th e laws an d outw it the u rb a n governm ent
b u re a u c ra c y is larg ely due to th e ir close lin k s with
politicians and political o rg a n iz a tio n s, a point often
r e fe r r e d to b y sev eral w rite rs b u t n e v e r e lab o rated (Sen,
M.K. 1969 and 1979; Ish ak Shaari 1976:121; A bdullah
Ahmad 1979). It is th e w rite r’s h y p o th esis th a t th is
sq u a tte r-p o litic ia n re latio n sh ip is what larg ely acco u n ts for th e s q u a tte r s ' con tin u ed su rv iv al and th e ir ab ility to
in d u c e , albeit in d ire c tly , th e local a u th o rity a n d th e
c e n tra l governm ent to act in th e ir fa v o u r. The dynam ics of such re latio n sh ip will b e stu d ie d closely to determ ine th e n a tu re of tra n sa c tio n s ta k in g place, th e b a ses fo r such tra n sa c tio n s an d th e exp ectatio n s each p a r ty h as of the o th e r. The e x te n t of th e s q u a tte r s ' political consciousness will also b e examined as well as th e ir political inclinations an d ideologies. The w rite r does not confine h e rs e lf to pow er relatio n s a t th e community (local) lev el, b u t looks
o u tw ard s beyond th e b o u n d aries of th e kampung. The
s q u a tte rs re la te to th e u rb a n system so c io -c u ltu ra lly , economically and politically and hence th e ir liv es a re v e ry much influenced b y fo rces outside th e ir village an d th e ir co n tro l. An u n d e rsta n d in g of such fo rces is cru cial in seeking ex planations fp r th e n a tu re of political relatio n s th a t p rev ail in th e sq u atm en t.
- 1 0
-1.3 Significance of th e S tudy
The most conspicuous fe a tu re of larg e u rb a n c e n tre s in th e developing c o u n trie s in th e la st two decades is th e p re se n ce of squatm ents which contain a s u b sta n tia l portion of th e c itie s' p opulation. These squatm ents are known b y
v ario u s nam es: in Latin Am erica, th ey a re called barrios,
barriadas, favelas, ranchos, colonias proletarias or
campallas; in A frica th e y are re fe rre d to as bidonvilles or
gourvivilles; in India th e y a re term ed b u s t e e s; in T u rk e y
th e y a re gecekondu and in th e P hilippines th e y are
ba run g- bar un g. In g en eral term s th ey are s h a n ty tow ns in which live betw een 15% an d 45% of th e u rb a n population in th ird world c o u n tr ie s . T h eir physical and environm ental c h a ra c te ris tic s c o n tra s t sh a rp ly with the carefu lly planned co n crete b lo ck s, giv in g th e u rb a n p re c in c ts a tin g e of 'r u r a ln e s s ' and giving th e term town and city a somewhat d iffe re n t meaning an d in te rp re ta tio n to what is generally
u n d e rsto o d in th e w est. The b u ild in g s a re often
c o n s tru c te d in h a s te , p e rh a p s o v e rn ig h t, with minimal p lan n in g and with almost total d isre g a rd fo r hum an need fo r ventilatio n an d sa n ita tio n . The v e ry poor s q u a tte rs may u se le ft-o v e r pieces of wood from c o n stru c tio n s ite s , fla tte n e d oil drum s o r can v ass to build th e ir ab o d e. The more fo rtu n a te may be able to b u y th e ir own wood, cement^ a n d c o rru g a te d iron s h e e ts . Hence th e re a re v ariatio n s in
th e c h a ra c te ris tic s of squatm ents dep en d in g on such
fa c to rs as th e socio-economic s ta tu s of th e s q u a tte r s , th e age of th e settlem ent and th e political climate in which th e y liv e.
One main denom inator which s q u a tte rs all o v er th e world sh a re in common is th e "forcible occupation" of th e ir
dwelling o r dwelling s ite s . In th e case of tro p ical
c o u n trie s, w here th e climate is congenial and s h e lte rs can be c o n stru c te d ra p id ly , it is th e dwelling site th a t is
co u n trie s such unlaw ful occupation of what a p p e a rs to be n o -m a n 's-lan d is common. The more involved a town o r city in a th ir d world c o u n try is in physical and economic developm ent, th e more ram pant is s q u a ttin g .
Cities in th e th ird world are in creasin g ly b u r s tin g at th e seams with s q u a tte r s . T h e ir governm ents a re becom ing alarm ed an d in many c o u n trie s governm ent bodies and academic in stitu tio n s have been d ire c te d or en co u rag ed to
conduct re s e a rc h on s q u a tte rs and th e p ro c e ss of
sq u a ttin g . The b u lk of th is re s e a rc h , how ever, h as been c a rrie d out not b y a n th ro p o lo g ists, b u t b y o th e r social sc ie n tists - d em o g rap h ers, social g e o g ra p h e rs, h is to ria n s , sociologists and econom ists. Social anthropological w orks on u rb a n s q u a tte r s a re still re la tiv e ly few in nu m b er, p e rh a p s u n d e rs ta n d a b ly , b ecause an th ro p o lo g ists a re late-com ers to u rb a n re s e a r c h . T h e ir atte n tio n was draw n to w ard s th e
u rb a n poor - th e o ccu p an ts of slum s, g h e tto s an d
sq u atm en ts - only in th e six ties and in g en eral N orth American an th ro p o lo g ists have been more involved in such re se a rc h th a n th e B ritis h . Among th e stu d ies done in th e la st two d e c ad e s, th e most notable are p e rh a p s th o se of O scar Lewis, William Mangin and P e te r Lloyd, whose w orks will be d isc u sse d in Section 1.4.
Many of th e p re v a le n t w orks provide a clear p ic tu re of th e social p ro c e ss in th e s q u a tte r n e ig h b o u rh o o d , its
form ation an d su sten an ce which is e ssen tial in o u r
u n d e rsta n d in g of u rb a n s q u a ttin g and which cannot be u n co v ered b y th e w orks of o th e r social sc ie n tists su ch as dem ographers o r social g e o g rap h e rs or b y a rc h ite c ts and social p la n n e rs . B u t anthropological works on s q u a tte r s , as alluded to e a rlie r, a re few and confined larg ely to cities in th e Latin Am erican c o u n trie s. Elsew here in th e developing c o u n trie s, such stu d ie s are minimal. It is p e rh a p s time
12
-th a t an -th ro p o lo g ists paid some atten tio n to -th e s q u a tte rs since th e y form such a larg e portion of th e u rb a n p o o r,
whose massive p resen ce in th e cities sig n ifies acu te
developm ent problem s. A n th ro p o lo g ists, with th e ir
sm all-scale b u t in ten siv e s tu d ie s , can c o n trib u te tow ards o u r p re s e n t u n d e rsta n d in g of th e s q u a tte r problem s and
th e ir work could help guide u rb a n p la n n e rs and
a d m in istrato rs in th e ir search for solutions to th ese
problem s, if indeed th e re were a n y . What b e tte r way is th e re fo r th e an th ro p o lo g ist to give h is discipline a p ractical value!
In Malaysia in p a rtic u la r anthropological stu d ie s on th e s q u a tte r s a re conspicuously lacking. A nthropological works on Malaysian societies have been mostly on the
p r e -u r b a n communities: th e p e a s a n ts, th e sh iftin g
a g ric u ltu ra lis ts and th e h u n te r s and g a th e r e r s . In the
p re -w a r y e a r s , anthropological lite ra tu re w ere w ritten
mainly b y a n th ro p o lo g ist/sc h o lar a d m in istrato rs who seem to h av e a p en ch an t fo r th e exotic prim itiv ity of the ab o rig in e s and th e Malays. The works of su ch people as Evans (1937) an d S chebesta (1929), for exam ple, re c o rd v ario u s a sp e c ts of th e ab o rig in e s' liv e s, while th o se of B lagden (1896) and Wilkinson (1906) and o th e rs a re about th e Malays in which beliefs an d magic, relig io n , custom ary laws and k in sh ip seem to h ave been the fa v o u rite to p ics. In th e p o st-w a r y e a r s , th e same topics were still b eing s tu d ie d ; in ad d itio n , o th e r a sp e c ts of Malay an d ab original life w ere stu d ie d which include th e ir indigenous political s t r u c t u r e , economic o rg a n iz a tio n , social s tra tific a tio n , le a d e rsh ip and impact of developm ent on th e tra d itio n al
social s tr u c tu r e . The p erio d before th e 1960's was
dominated b y foreign an th ro p o lo g ists; since th e n , h o w ev er,
local sch o lars began to em erge. But even with th e
This p re-o ccu p atio n with th e stu d y of th e p e a san ts an d ab o rig in es re fle c ts not only th e general tr e n d of social anthropology in th e y e a rs b efore th e six ties b u t also the
d istin ctio n made betw een anthropology and sociology.
A nth ro p o lo g ists were su p p o sed to occupy them selves with
th e n o n -w e ste rn , p re -in d u s tria l so cieties, a n d the
sociologists with th e complex communities in th e w estern u rb a n iz e d and in d u stria l w orld.
In M alaysia, th e divide an d ru le policy of th e colonial regim e k e p t th e v ario u s eth n ic g ro u p s a p a rt: th e Malays an d ab o rig in es in th e c o u n try sid e , th e In d ian s in th e
r u b b e r e s ta te s and th e Chinese in to w n s. This
geographical seg reg atio n led n a tu ra lly to th e situ atio n in which a n th ro p o lo g ists were concerned with th e Malays and a b o rig in e s an d th e sociologists with th e C hinese and
In d ia n s. Even when th e geographical seg reg atio n was
g ra d u a lly e ro d e d , when Malays began to m igrate in larg e n um bers into tow ns an d c ities in th e late fiftie s , an d when th e clear distin ctio n betw een anthropology a n d sociology beg an to be b lu r r e d , most an th ro p o lo g ists w orking in Malaysia still focused th e ir atten tio n on th e c o u n try sid e . V ery few v e n tu re d into to w ns. Hence anthropological w orks in th e tow ns and cities a re relativ e ly few, com prising five
P h.D th e se s (Maulud Y usof, 1975; P ro v en ch e r 1976;
Friel-Sim on 1978; Khadijah Haji Muhammad 1978 a n d Osman M.H. 1979); one M aster of A rts th e sis (Y usof Suratm an 1979) an d a few long e ssa y s or g rad u atio n ex e rc ise s w ritten b y stu d e n ts in th e Malaysian u n iv e rsitie s as p a rtia l req u irem en ts of th e ir B achelor of A rts d e g re e c o u rse . V ery few of th e se w orks deal with th e s q u a tte r s , and w hatever lite ra tu re available on the su b ject co n sist of
collections of eth n o g rap h ic d ata w ithout ad eq u ate
14
-u n p -u b lis h e d .
Most of th e p re v a len t lite ra tu re on Malaysian
s q u a tte rs have been w ritten b y social o r u rb a n
g e o g ra p h e rs, h isto ria n s, d em o g rap h ers, econom ists and
u rb a n p la n n e r s . While th e h isto ria n s em phasize the
developm ent of s q u a tte r comm unities, th e economists s tr e s s th e problem of incomes and w ages, levels of consum ption and s ta n d a rd of liv in g ; while th e g e o g ra p h e rs s tu d y th e ir
settlem ent p a t t e r n s , th e impact of th e ir p re se n c e on
h o u sin g , th e job m ark et, developm ent an d climatic
c h a n g e s, th e dem ographers scru tin ize th e ir age s tr u c tu r e ,
fe rtility r a t e s , family size an d pro ject th e ir possible
in c re a se . These w orks are macro stu d ie s which throw v e ry little lig h t on social p ro ce sse s at th e micro lev el; v e ry little is known about how th e s q u a tte rs organize them selves socially an d economically a n d none at all about th e ir p o litics, th o u g h sev eral b rie f re fe re n c e s have b een made on th e s u b je c t. T h ere is th e re fo re a gap in o u r know ledge of th e Malaysian s q u a tte rs an d it is clearly th e ta sk of social an th ro p o lo g ists to fill th e gap and it is h o ped th a t th is s tu d y will go some way tow ards fulfilling th a t ta sk an d com plem enting all th o se stu d ie s c a rrie d out b y sch o lars in th e o th e r discip lin es.
1.4 T heoretical O rientation
A n th ro p o lo g ists w orking on th e u rb a n scene find th e ir work problem atical. The most p e rtin e n t q u estio n b efo re them is how to tra n s f e r effectively th e ir tec h n iq u e of analysis to th e u rb a n c o n te x t. In attem pting to resolve th is problem u rb a n a n th ro p o lo g ists have come up with th re e ty p e s of stu d ie s w hich, as summed up b y Eames & Goode (1977), a re : stu d ies of p easan t m igrants in th e c ity ,
stu d ie s u s in g th e city as a la b o ra to ry . Quite o ften th e th re e a re a s of stu d ie s overlap one a n o th e r and th e p re s e n t th e sis is one such exam ple.
The p re s e n t work is p rin cip a lly a community s tu d y ; its focus of a tte n tio n is a gro u p of s q u a tte rs w ithin an
id entifiable geographical b o u n d a ry , who co n sid e r
them selves socially and politically d istin c t from th e r e s t of th e u rb a n population and who among them selves h av e a re g u la r an d identifiable p a tte r n of social relatio n s and in s titu tio n s . As th e s q u a tte rs a re re c e n t m ig ran ts facing problem s of accommodation, th is s tu d y is also in d ire c tly about u rb a n adjustm ents and p ro b le m -o rien tated .
Most stu d ie s on s q u a tte rs have been g u id ed b y two main them es: th e "c u ltu re of p o v e rty " and th e "concept of
m arg in ality ". A n th ropologists an d o th e rs q u ite often
ap proach th e ir s q u a tte r re sp o n d e n ts with a view to te s tin g th e v a lid ity of th e se two co n cep ts - to see w h eth er o r not th e s q u a tte r s a re afflicted with th e c h a ra c te ris tic s of th e "cu ltu re of p o v e rty " or if it is tru e th a t th e y a re indeed
m arginal in th e sp a tia l, economic, social an d political
se n se . At th is point it is p e rh a p s essen tial to elab o rate on
th e two co n cep ts in o rd e r to illuminate p re v a le n t
ap p ro ach es in th e s tu d y of s q u a tte r s .
(a) The C u ltu re of P o v e rty . The "cu ltu re of p o v e rty " o r " s u b -c u ltu re of p o v e rty " is a conceptual model d evised b y O scar Lewis to explain th e life style of th e u rb a n p o o r, v iz. th e slum dw ellers in Mexico C ity , P u erto Rico and New York w here h is stu d ie s w ere co n d u cted . T he concept
was in tro d u c e d in his Five Families (1959) an d was
developed in h is su b se q u en t w orks namely Pedro Martinez
(1964), Children o f Sanchez (1961), La Vida (1966), The Culture of P ov ert y (1966) an d in his essay in collaboration
16
-with o th e rs , The Children of Sanchez, Pedro Martinez and
La Vida (1967).
Lewis d e sc rib e s th e ’’c u ltu re of p o v e rty ” as ”a label fo r a specific conceptual model th a t d e sc rib es in positive
term s a s u b c u ltu re of w estern society with its own
s tr u c tu r e an d ra tio n a le , a way of life h an d ed down from gen eratio n to gen eratio n along family lin e s ” (1966:19).
He a rg u e s th a t th is c u ltu re is not endemic to w estern so ciety ; it tra n s c e n d s regional and national b o u n d a rie s. The tr a its of th e c u ltu re a re num erous and a re b y no means p o sitiv e . F o u r p rin cip al ones are id en tifiab le: f ir s t, th e relatio n sh ip betw een th e su b c u ltu re and th e la rg e r society which Lewis re g a rd s as "the cru cial element in th e
c u ltu re of p o v e rty ” (1966:21), is c h a ra c te riz e d by
n o n -in teg ra tio n an d disengagem ent of th e s u b c u ltu re from th e major in stitu tio n s of th e so ciety. Those afflicted b y th e c u ltu re do n o t, fo r exam ple, belong to lab o u r unions o r
political p a rtie s an d th e y make little u se of b a n k s ,
h o sp ita ls, dep artm en t s to re s o r m useums. In s h o rt, th e y are m arginal econom ically, so cio -cu ltu rally an d politically.
Secondly, th e slum community according to Lewis ’’h as a minimum level of o rganizations beyond th e n u clear and ex ten d ed fam ily” (1966:23) and th is low level of community organization gives th e c u ltu re of p o v e rty its m arginal and anomalous q u ality in th e h ig h ly o rganized u rb a n c o n te x t. T h ird ly , th e family in th e c u ltu re of p o v e rty is u n s ta b le , often m atrifocal, with th e women h av in g a dominant role in th e male-female relatio n sh ip an d with th e m other h av in g more r ig h ts o v er h e r ch ild re n and th e household p r o p e rty . M other c e n tre d family is th e consequence of u n sta b le unions betw een h u sb a n d s an d wives o r betw een those c o n tra c tin g co nsensual u n io n s. Male-female re latio n sh ip out of wedlock is w id esp read , so also th e abandonm ent of
p ro s titu tio n . The ch ild re n a re initiated to sex e a rly in life; riv a lry betw een c h ild re n is in ten se and th e r e is little p r iv a c y .
F o u rth ly , at th e level of th e individual th e re is in the
c u ltu re of p o v erty a s tro n g feeling of fatalism ,
h e lp le ss n e s s, dependence and in fe rio rity . T h e re is a high incidence of weak ego s tr u c tu r e , orality an d "confusion of
sexual id en tificatio n ". The individual is
p re se n t-tim e -o rie n ta te d and h a s little disposition to d efer g ra tific a tio n ; h is outlook is local o r provincial an d he is
n ot class conscious. T h ere is also p reoccupation with
machismo an d a hig h toleran ce of psychological p ath o lo g y .
Lewis d iffe re n tia te s betw een p o v e rty p er se an d th e
c u ltu re of p o v e r ty . While th e form er is merely
d e p riv a tio n s, th e la tte r re fe r s to th e sty le of life induced b y th e se d e p riv a tio n s. He claims th a t th e c u ltu re is p e rs is te n t in th e sense th a t th e tra its of th e c u ltu re lin g e r on in th e individual even a fte r his socio-economic s ta tu s h a s im proved. Not all poor people, it seem s, h av e th e c u ltu re of p o v e r ty , as is th e case with th e lower caste H indus of In d ia , th e Jew s of E a stern Europe an d th e C ubans a fte r th e rev o lu tio n , Lewis m aintains th a t th e c u ltu re of p o v e rty p re v a ils only when c e rta in p reco n d itio n s a re p r e s e n t, which a re :
(1) Cash economy, wage labour and p ro d u ctio n fo r
p ro fit, (2) p e rs is te n t h ig h ra te of unem ploym ent and
underem ploym ent fo r u n sk illed la b o u r, (3) low w ages, (4)
th e failu re to p ro v id e social, political a n d economic
org an izatio n s e ith e r on a v o lu n tary b asis or b y governm ent imposition for th e low income pop u latio n s, (5) th e ex isten ce of b ilate ra l k in sh ip system r a th e r th an u n ila te ra l o n e, and finally (6) th e p re se n c e of a set of values in th e dominant
18
-class which s tre s s e s th e accum ulation of wealth and
p r o p e rty , th e p ossibility of upw ard mobility an d th r if t and
which e x p lain s low economic s ta tu s as th e re s u lt of
p erso n al inadequacy o r in fe rio rity .
Given th e se p re co n d itio n s, th e poor will develop the tr a its of th e c u ltu re of p o v e rty and th e y will be tra p p e d
in th is life -sty le fo r th e y a re inacapable of
self-im provem ent. Only help from outside can wipe out the tr a its of th e said c u ltu re and th is help may tak e th e form of p sy c h ia tric tre atm e n t in co u n trie s w here th e p ro p o rtio n of th e poor is small o r a ’re v o lu tio n a ry ' solution involving
s tr u c tu r a l ch ange b y re d istrib u tio n of wealth and
o rg anization of th e p o o r, when th e poor form a mass of th e p o p u la tio n .
The notion of th e c u ltu re of p o v erty confirm s and re ite ra te s th e u b iq u ito u s middle class conception of the u rb a n poor and it is believed th a t th is acco u n ts fo r its w idespread atte n tio n from go v ern m en ts, bo th in th e U nited S tates of America and in th e T h ird World and fo r th e fact th a t it was u se d as a prem ise for many program m es to im prove slums an d sq u a tm e n ts. Among social s c ie n tis ts , Lewis' th e o ry was widely d isc u ssed and re c e iv e d much criticism as epitomized b y th e work of V alentine (1967). W hether o r not we re g a rd it as a sound th e o ry it h as u n d o u b te d ly g e n e ra te d much re se a rc h in te re s t in th e s tu d y of th e u rb a n p o o r. The c u ltu re of p o v e rty was u se d b y many as an analytical fram ew ork in such s tu d ie s , especially th o se done in T h ird World co u n trie s w here a la rg e section of th e u rb a n poor a re s q u a tte r s . T hus one fin d s social sc ie n tis ts app ly in g a th e o ry d eriv ed from th e s tu d y of slum dw ellers to s q u a tte r s as if th e two ca te g o rie s of people w ere id en tical.
Slums and squatm ents a re two analytically s e p a ra te c o n c ep ts. Slum tenem ents a re legal: th e ir ow ners p ay q u it
r e n ts and th e ir ow nership is recognized b y th e a u th o ritie s ;
slums connote d e te rio ra tio n , sq u a lo r, acu te lack of
am enities, o v ercro w d in g , e t c . ; an d in th e T h ird World co u n trie s w here u rb an izatio n and in d u strializatio n have gained momentum only in th e last th re e d ecad es, slums are u su ally confined to in n e r city c e n tr e s . S q u atm en ts, on th e o th e r h a n d , a re h o u sin g area s w ithout legal s ta tu s ; th e r ig h ts of th e s q u a tte rs to th e h o u ses and land th e y occupy a re not reco g n ized by the a u th o ritie s and th e s q u a tte r s
pay no ta x o r q u it r e n ts . Squatm ents in developing
c o u n trie s a re mainly in th e p e rip h e ry of th e c ity , w here
land h a s b een u s u rp e d fo r th e p u rp o se of house
c o n stru c tio n . Slum th e re fo re connotes a n eg ativ e p h y sical s t a t e , w hereas squatm ent signifies a d isre sp e c t fo r and d isre g a rd of th e law s, i . e . land law s.
S quatm ents may o r may not sh a re th e p h y sical
c h a ra c te ris tic s of the slum s, th o u g h quite often th e y do. This acco u n ts fo r th e ten d en cy of many r e s e a rc h e rs to eq u ate slums with sq u atm en ts an d to apply th e c u ltu re of p o v e rty th e o ry to s q u a tte r s . And indeed a few do fin d th a t tr a its of th e c u ltu re of p o v e rty prev ail among c e rta in s q u a tte r s . Jocano's work (1975) among th e Manila s q u a tte rs se rv e s as an exam ple. O th ers h ave draw n o u r a tte n tio n to
th e n eed to d istin g u ish slum dw ellers from u rb a n
s q u a tte r s ; th e two categ o ries of people hav in g d iffe re n t relatio n s to th e house an d land th e y occupy and th is , it is b eliev ed , b rin g s fo rth th e d iffe rin g a ttitu d e s to life and d iffe re n t forms of social org an izatio n . Mangin (1967, 1973),
fo r in sta n c e , re je c ts th e applicability of O scar Lewis'
th e o ry to s q u a tte r s . Writing on th e b a rria d a dw ellers of Lima, P e ru , Mangin sa y s:
" . . . The b a rria d a families are relativ e ly stab le
com pared to those in th e city slums o r th e r u ra l
- 20
-common in th e city slums a re ra re in th e b a rria d a s
. . . th e b a rria d a dw ellers a re well o rg an ized . . .
A lthough p o o r, th e y do not live in h o p elessn ess c h a ra c te ris tic of th e 'c u ltu re of p o v e rty ' d ep icted by O scar Lewis . . . " " . . . T hey have close connections with th e city th ro u g h th e ir jo b s, u n io n s, social c lu b s, c h u rc h e s an d serv ices such as medical c a r e , social se c u rity and unemployment in s u ra n c e ." (1973:236). T h u s M angin's re sp o n d e n ts are n e ith e r d isen g a g ed from th e w ider society n o r a re th e y disorganized at th e community level o r prone to family in sta b ility . T hey are clearly d iffe re n t from th e slum dw ellers in Lewis' s tu d y . O th er r e s e a rc h e rs in th e field in Latin America and elsew here (su c h as Safa 1974; Lomnitz 1974; P eattie 1968; Ross 1973; Lloyd 1980; L aquian 1971; Ray 1969 an d Perlman
1976) find su b sta n tia l evidence to su p p o rt M angin's
contention th a t s q u a tte rs do not sh are th e tr a its of Lewis' c u ltu re of p o v e rty .
(b ) M arginality. A p art from Lewis' th e o ry of c u ltu re
of p o v e rty , th e s tu d y of th e u rb a n poor h as also c e n tre d upon th e concept of m arg in ality . The origin of th is concept
can be tra c e d to P a rk 's Human Migration and Marginal Man
(1928) in which he expounded a psychological-sociological view of th e man betw een two c u ltu re s or 'th e c u ltu ra l h y b r id 1. A ccording to P a rk ,
"It is in th e mind of th e marginal man . . . w here th e ch an g es and fusion of c u ltu re are going on . . . th a t we can b e s t s tu d y th e p ro cess of civilization and p r o g r e s s ." (1928).
a p o tential in n o v a to r, th e p re se n t ste re o ty p e s of th e m arginal man a re th e o p p o site. As the concept is widely
u se d in th e Latin American lite ra tu r e , th e term
'm arg in ality ' closely resem bles th e word 'm arginal' in th e P o rtu g u e se a n d Spanish lan g u ag es in which th e term h as extrem ely p e rjo ra tiv e c o n n o tatio n s. A m arginal man is " . . . a s h iftle ss , d a n g e ro u s n e 'e r-d o -w e ll, u su ally asso ciated
with th e u n d erw o rld of crim e, violence, d ru g s and
p ro stitu tio n " (Perlm an 1976:92). The concept of m arginality h a s been u se d in v ario u s w ays: in spatial term s to r e fe r to
settlem en ts on th e p e rip h e ry of th e c ity , i . e . th e
sq u atm en ts; in econom ic-occupation sense in re fe re n c e to jobs which a re u n s ta b le , with low pay and which a re not p a rt of an d c o n trib u tin g to th e mainstream econom y; th e m igrants newcomers and to d iffe re n t s u b c u ltu re s ; to r e fe r to d ev ian ts as well as racial and ethnic m inorities. Endemic in th e notion of m arginality is th e d u alist view of so ciety : th e m ainstream gro u p and those outside i t , an d th is d istin ctio n is n o t made on num erical b asis b u t on political an d economic s tre n g th as well as socio -eu ltu ral dom inance. In th e Latin American c o n te x t, th e dominant group is th e elites whose b ase is th e c ity , th e fo rtre s s of h ig h c u ltu re , an d who a re hom ogeneous and speak a to n g u e d iffe re n t from th e local indigenous g ro u p s. From th e moment th e c ity was f ir s t 'in v ad e d ' by th e indigenous m ig ran ts from th e c o u try sid e , th e elites view th e m igrants as a b lig h t and a th re a t to th e ir s ta tu s qu o . The settlem ents formed b y th e m ig ran ts are seen as m arginal settlem en ts an d th e m igrants them selves as m arginal people, while th e word
'm arginal' became a euphemism fo r th e p o o r. As th e
num ber of m arginal settlem ents and th e ir in h a b ita n ts
in c re a se d , so did th e fe a r of th e e lite s. They fe a r th a t th e
m arginal lab o u r force may become so f r u s tr a te d an d
alienated th a t th is may give way to social an d political d is ru p tio n s .
22
-In s h o rt, th e m arginals are excluded from and not in te g ra te d into th e mainstream society and th e b e s t way to h andle them , it is b eliev ed , is to in te g ra te them into th e v e ry system which was re sp o n sib le for th e ir em ergence in th e firs t p lace. To th e e x te n t th a t m arginality focuses on n o n -in te g ra tio n , th is concept b e a rs close resem blance to Lewis' c u ltu re of p o v e rty , and as such th e evidence given b y re s e a rc h e rs to re fu te th e p resen ce of th e c u ltu re of p o v e rty among s q u a tte rs can also be u se d to discount the applicability of th e concept of m arginality among them .
In its d ire c t application to th e s tu d y of u rb a n
s q u a tte r s , th e concept of m arginality h a s b een widely
re je c te d . Lloyd (1980), whose focus of s tu d y is the
pobladores of Medalla M elagrossa in Lima, P e ru , m aintains th a t th e s q u a tte rs are m arginal only in spatial te rm s, b u t not in any o th e r way. S o cio -cu ltu rally , acco rd in g to him,
th e s q u a tte rs " . . . seem anxious to conform to those
s ta n d a rd s enum erated alike b y middle c lasses an d th e c h u rc h e s . . . " an d " . . . th e m igrant poor a re in te g ra te d inasm uch as th e y accept th e dominant valu es in th e ir society and a sp ire to th e life -sty le enjoyed b y those
w ealthier th a n them selves". Economically "th ey a re
in te g ra te d into th e dominant secto r of th e econom y", and
politically "the pobladores v oted in national electio n s; some
. . . belonged to political p a rtie s and p a r ty allegiance was claimed . . . an d th e y a re . . . v e ry active in th e a ffa irs of th e ir community . . . " (Lloyd 1980:120-124).
L loyd's fin d in g s r e ite ra te e a rlier w orks b y o th e r re s e a rc h e rs as alluded to e a rlie r. As more work is c a rrie d
out among th e s q u a tte r s in T h ird World c o u n trie s, th e
n eg ativ e view of s q u a tte rs is slowly b ein g rep laced b y
more p o sitive o n e s . We know now th a t s q u a tte r s are
o rg an ized , although th e ir levels of organization v a ry ; we also know of th e ir m anipulations of th e ir social re so u rc e s
