KUCHING, April 30: If it is continued to be given a huge mandate in the coming general election (GE14), the state Barisan Nasional (BN) government would be able to acquire more funds to build more affordable housing under the Rumah Mesra Rakyat 1Malaysia (RMR1M).
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the houses, typically costing between RMRM63,000 and RM74,000 to build, would only cost buyers half the price as the other half was subsidised by the government.
“We have to thank our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for this RMR1M programme. Therefore in the GE14 continue to give (BN candidate for Petra Jaya) Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof support and votes, because if BN Sarawak wins, it would be much easier to ask for more allocations from the federal government.
“This is for the interest of the rakyat. Not for me, not for Fadillah, but for the people,” he said after a walkabout at the Sungai Midin RMR1M site in Petra Jaya this afternoon.
In relation to this, Abang Johari said since the Sungai Midin site has been built up with modern housing, he suggested that the name be changed to Taman Midin.
Also on a related note, Abang Johari said there have been plans to expand Taman Midin RMR1M as there has been overwhelming demand for the affordable housing scheme.
He said to date, there has been about 60,000 people in the process of applying for the scheme from all over the state.
In Petra Jaya alone including Sungai Midin, there were 686 applicants, but only 141 RMR1M houses were built.
Due to this, Abang Johari said if BN Sarawak wins GE14, it would be easier for the government to acquire more allocation and begin the extension work to Sungai Midin to build more affordable houses under that scheme.
“I am planning to extend Sungai Midin’s RMR1M, that is if Fadillah wins. According to the list I have there are about 67,000 people still waiting in line applying for the scheme.
“This is an overwhelming response, and we have to do something to accommodate them,” he said, adding that for the expansion, two designs would be proposed — double storey, and on stilts types of houses.
Other sites he pointed out with potential in Petra Jaya area was the Sungai Bedaun site to reorganise and beautify the existing Kampung Darul Hana by means of an affordable housing scheme.
Another site Abang Johari said that would need expansion due to overwhelming demands would be Kemunyan in Sibu.
“Therefore let us pray for the success or Sarawak BN in GE14 so that we will continue to pursue our oil and gas rights and from that we can earn more revenue to be able to carry out more projects that would benefit the rakyat,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister for Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said this RMR1M project was initiated by the federal government through Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) and contractor Daya Builders Sdn Bhd.
“The government subsidises half of the cost, so successful applicants only have to pay about half of the cost.
“Each house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It is built based on the Industrial Building System (IBS) and has about 750 square feet of space.
“For the Sungai Midin alone, the government subsidised RM1.2 million out of RM3.5 million of the total cost. Apart from that all houses are complete with water and electricity supply.
“Because of that there is no reason for Sungai Midin not to support and vote for Fadillah in the coming GE14,” she said. — DayakDaily
