Resettlement areas of tsunami victims in Malaysia: An analysis of neighbourhood quality and well-being

The tsunami disaster that struck Indonesia in December 2004 has left a devastating impact on some coastal settlements in Malaysia such as Kuala Muda and Langkawi in Kedah and Batu Peringgi in Penang. Many households have lost family members and homes. Efforts to rebuild their houses or resettle them in the new settlements was carried out by a government company, the Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad, partly using money donated by the public. The reconstruction and resettlement programmes had undoubtedly solved the problem of shelter among the tsunami victims. However, issues concerning their social welfare have recently emerged and gained a wide attention among social scientists. This paper analyses the quality of well-being of the tsunami victims with regard to their housing conditions and social welfare. Data for this study were obtained from a field survey conducted on 233 respondents involved with the programmes. The analysis found that generally, the quality of the newly constructed or repaired dwelling units the tsunami victims lived in were very much better than before the tsunami onslaught. So was the level of neighbourhood security. However, most occupants were of the view that at present, their accessibility to basic services was significantly lower than before and this reduced their social well-being. The paper concludes that the resettlement of the tsunami victims and the reconstruction of their houses should be aimed at not only providing a physically improved place of living but also the uplifting of their social and economic well-being as well.