KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — The Federal Territories Ministry aims to hand over 90 housing units to the underprivileged in the Federal Territory next year under Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s ‘Baiti Jannati’ project.
Its deputy minister Datuk Shahruddin Md Salleh said the target could be realised through its strategic cooperation with more private parties in an effort to enable the less fortunate to own homes and to live in more comfortable ones
“The Baiti Jannati TNB project is one of the solutions in helping and addressing urban poverty in the Federal Territory. We do not want tithe recipients, single mothers, the disabled and senior citizens to be marginalised,” he told reporters after officiating the handing over of housing units via the Baiti Jannati Project@Wilayah Persekutuan at the Kerinci People’s Housing Programme (PPR), Lembah Pantai here, today.
Also present at the event were TNB chief corporate officer Datuk Wira Roslan Ab Rahman and Lembah Pantai Member of Parliament Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil.
At the function, Shahruddin handed over residential units to 42 hardcore poor families under the programme, in collaboration with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Federal Territories Foundation and TNB.
Forty of the recipients are tithe recipients who live in PPR or (DBKL) Public Housing units while the rest received assistance to build new homes on their respective lands.
“Via this project, all recipients of housing units who are current PPR or DBKL Public Housing tenants no longer have to pay the monthly rental to DBKL and the houses received have also been restored.
“The house is now of permanent property status and the main condition is that the unit cannot be sold to a third party but can be passed on to children or next of kin who are also in the category of recipients,” he said.
Meanwhile, since the Baiti Jannati TNB project was implemented in the Federal Territory in 2014, a total of 109 houses of selected recipients have been successfully built or repaired by TNB involving a cost of RM5.028 million.
According to Roslan, TNB will buy DBKL houses that are occupied by selected tithe recipient and repair the house at an overall cost of not more than RM50,000 per unit before handing it over to the selected recipient family.
He added that this year, TNB has provided an allocation of RM2 million in tithes to be utilised through the project to settle outstanding housing loans or rent arrears.
“This is a positive development, at the Federal Territory level TNB started with the restoration of one house for which the repairing cost came up to RM65,000 in 2014, and this has risen to 109 units at RM5.028 million this year.
“While at the national level, the total cost for repairs came up to RM22.013 million for 522 housing units for the period commencing from 2007 until this year,” he said. — Bernama
