Assessing community facilities provision from Islamic perspectives : a case study of Taman Melati, Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

The provision of community facilities is a key responsibility of local government to meet local needs. An ideal community is one that is formed with proper and well-planned facilities. Adequate provision of facilities helps in improving the quality of life for the residents in a neighbourhood. However, problems arise when there is a lacking in terms of the provision as well as the management and maintenance of the community facilities. Islam propagates the improvement and perfection of conditions for human life. The provision of community facilities by integrating Islamic Principles helps to create a harmonious neigbourhood area. At the same time, it will also help the residents to improve their lifestyle towards better living conditions. This research focuses on five main criteria to assess the conditions of public facilities which are; quality, quantity, accessibility, management and maintenance as well as safety and security. Meanwhile, from the Islamic perspective, the criteria include human welfare, social interaction, safety and security, social responsibility and Islamic urban image. Facilities assessment is based on the Planning Standards and Guidelines for Community Facilities GP004-A except for welfare facilities and public library that are not allocated in the study area. This thesis will come out with the assessment of the existing practice and the improvement that can be made therein. The four main objectives of this research are to identify the factors that affect the level of satisfaction for the community facilities provided, to derive Islamic principles related to the community facilities, to examine the issues and problems on the existing provision of community facilities and to recommend measures for the improvement of community facilities provision based on Islamic principles towards human well-being. A neighbourhood area was selected and research was conducted through site inventory, questionnaire survey and experts’ interview. From the research, it was found that most of the residents are satisfied with the existing community facilities provided. However, there are still some lacking in the aspect of planning and implementation stages as well as in the monitoring aspect. These deficiencies have given rise to some negative effects on the users. This is in contradiction with the Islamic principles that emphasize on the protection of the basic needs of each individual. Hence, this research is very important in order to help local authorities in preparing the indicators for community facilities and concurrently integrating the Islamic principles to help demonstrate a high level of well-being for a better quality of life for the community.