In Singapore, its 728.6 square km and growing land mass privation — from Malaysia's 329,847 square km perspective — is a paradox.
Land is so scarce in the city state and yet, the republic ravenously slurps up the seas through routine reclamation, installing massive tracts of land annually. About 80 per cent of its 5.64 million population must live in its ubiquitously famed high-rise Housing Development Board (HDB) flats to optimise prime blocks.
This is how Singapore continues to construct their highly developed, post-modern state — aside from the gleaming skyscrapers, the singular focus on public housing to keep up with a growing populace is also a socio-political electoral campaign pledge.
Against this backdrop, Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming recently flirted with the idea of consulting the republic's experts to improve Malaysia's public housing concerns.
In a Dewan Rakyat inquiry as to why he was not referring to local experts, Nga said there was "nothing wrong" at looking across the Tebrau Strait.
Anyway, once he locked on Singapore as a reference point, the implication was striking. The HDB flats are the republic's bedrock of affordable housing amidst tight space in contrast to bountiful, even idle land in Malaysia.
Nga's fixation with Singapore's public housing takes on an intriguing dimension: if we were to "borrow" a little of the republic's concepts, it may alter the complexion of Malaysia's urban public housing, at least in congested cities like Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
From the low-income to the cafe crowd, Nga will have to envision this: how do city planners conceive reliable public transport against traffic congestion while easing pressure on stretched amenities and resources? He will understand that the 99-year leasehold of HDB flats is the pinnacle of Singapore's policy in making the units affordable, especially to the younger generation.
Will future Malaysian urban home ownership be locked in similar leaseholds? At least to temper real estate prices, curb transfers of wealth, and balance income inequality?
Since maintenance of HDB flats is managed by the Singapore government, will Nga propose a similar policy that future city high-rise flats be primarily government-controlled? The Singapore government has over decades acquired plots for infrastructure or redevelopment, easing out pastoral villages that avoided stark contrasts of dilapidated huts opposite a spanking modern structure, to erect HDB flats.
This policy shields Singaporean homeowners from being priced out, on top of the nice perks for first-time buyers: access to government housing grants and loans that conveniently sidestep bank loans that are dictated by interest rate hikes.
Could the same perks be accessible to first-time Malaysian buyers? Singapore's politicians are naturally cautious with their HDB phenomenon: a misplaced policy tweak could trigger adverse consequences at the polls.
The future Malaysian city home ownership scenario could also mean living in beautifully maintained leasehold flats surrounded by relevant amenities, if Singapore is any indication.
While implementation is still under conceptualisation, Nga may understand it as the next evolution in city living, plus it being a political asset, a prize valuable beyond any estimation. Just ask the Singaporeans.