by Dr Rahim Said
Somewhere in China this week, a 10-story residential apartment rose from flat ground to completion in just 28 hours. No, this isn’t a TikTok video sped up for views — it’s an actual, functioning building, completed with modern safety, sustainability, and energy standards.
Meanwhile, in Malaysia, we’re still chasing after housing projects abandoned since decades ago, potholes that get patched only when a VIP’s convoy passes by, and affordable homes priced affordably for billionaires.
The Chinese firm behind this record-breaking feat is Broad Group, a name that deserves more attention in Putrajaya than some of the GLC chairmen currently enjoying golf junkets abroad.
Using advanced modular construction and prefabricated units, they demonstrated not just speed, but precision and quality. It’s the kind of innovation our country badly needs — not another committee to study why housing costs are rising faster than our football rankings are falling.
Malaysia’s affordable housing problem isn’t new. We’ve had blueprint after blueprint, launched housing schemes with catchy acronyms, and held countless ground-breaking ceremonies complete with bunga manggar and VIP speeches.
But somehow, between the groundbreaking and the ribbon-cutting, many of these projects mysteriously vanish into a black hole of bureaucracy and budget overruns.
It’s time we faced facts: we need help. And there’s no shame in admitting it. China’s construction technology, particularly in prefabrication and modular systems, is light years ahead.
Instead of admiring their achievements from afar, Malaysia should be aggressively seeking partnerships with companies like Broad Group — not just to build homes, but to transfer skills, technology, and modern construction methods to our local industry.
Imagine the possibilities. Flood victims in Kelantan rehoused in days, not years. Affordable housing in Johor, Penang, and Sabah completed in record time, with quality that doesn’t require buyers to invest in buckets for leaky ceilings. Even our long-delayed government quarters and public housing projects could finally be delivered before the next election cycle.
It’s not rocket science. It’s prefabricated engineering, logistics, and a little thing called political will.
We should invite Broad Group here, offer them joint ventures with our GLCs, and give our local builders a masterclass in how to deliver on promises.
If China can house millions with speed and precision, surely we can do the same for the rakyat — unless, of course, the endless studies and tenders are more important than the people we claim to serve.
The world is moving ahead. China’s already done in 28 hours what we’ve been promising for probably 28 years.
Time to wake up, Malaysia.
Time to wake up, Malaysia.
The views expressed by the writer are entirely his own