KUCHING, May 27: The PR1MA affordable housing projects were nearing completion in 2019, so it was too late for the then PH government to cancel them, says Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing, and Local Government Michael Tiang.
He said Pakatan Harapan (PH) was never supportive of the two PR1MA housing projects, namely, the Residensi Matang Homes & Residensi Matang Premier, as well as Residensi Bintawa Riverfront, that were approved during the Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s administration.
He said that based on understanding from a reliable source, PH never allocated more funds to facilitate the construction of the houses when they took over as government, leading to PR1MA Corporation Malaysia having to negotiate with contractors and raise funds through bonds.
“Many challenges were faced when PH took over the federal government because they were not supportive,” he said.
The PR1MA Residensi Bintawa Riverfront was approved on May 23, 2016, as PR1MA apartments, and was completed in early 2020, said Tiang, who is also Pelawan assemblyman.
Meanwhile, the PR1MA Residensi Matang Homes & Residensi Matang Premier, initially a private project, was bought over by the BN government on Nov 3, 2015, and completed in 2019.
Tiang added that, in 2019, PH had launched the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), whereby the government gave discounts to home purchasers of the PR1MA housing.
“All they did was help sell (the houses) by launching HOC. So, this PR1MA housing is a BN administrative project in which PH played no part in giving funding,” he said in a statement today.
He was responding to claims by Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen that Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian had misled the people by saying that the PH government never allocated any funds for affordable housing in Sarawak.
Chong had refuted this by saying that the house keys to the two PR1MA housing projects were handed over to homeowners during the PH administration. Thus it is impossible to say that there were no allocations from PH for affordable houses. — DayakDaily
