GEORGE TOWN, March 11 — The Penang state government can build its own people’s housing project (PPR) units instead of waiting for the federal government to do so, Gerakan said today.
Penang Gerakan chairman Oh Tong Keong said there were no laws preventing the state government from building its own PPR units if the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government refused to build any in Penang.
“The state government had 10 years to do so but they didn’t build a single PPR unit, instead they continue to blame the former government,” he told reporters after a market walkabout here.
He said the previous BN state government, prior to 2008, had used a collaborative formula in which the state provided land while the federal government built the PPR units.
“This does not mean the Pakatan Harapan state government need to use the same method, they could have built the units on their own,” he said.
He disputed the state government’s claims that Penang only has 999 PPR units.
He said the previous BN state government together with the BN federal government built a total 3,153 PPR units between 1999 and 2008.
The previous administration built a total 1,441 PPR units between 1999 and 2004 and subsequently, 1,712 units between 2004 and 2008.
He said there were four other categories of housing for the poor under the previous administration; namely the rent-to-own housing, low cost housing priced at RM25,000, low cost housing priced at RM50,000 and low medium cost housing priced at RM72,500.
“Now, where are the rent-to-own and low cost housing projects? They keep talking about their RM300,000 affordable housing but it is not affordable housing for the poor,” he said.
Recently the state government announced that it has prepared three pieces of lands for the housing ministry to build PPR units.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamarudin said they will be building PPR units in Gelugor, Teluk Kumbar and Balik Pulau.
