By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, July 10: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has called on the Federal Housing and Local Government Ministry to address the issues faced by early buyers of Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA) houses immediately.
Dr Yii in a press statement said the Federal Housing and Local Government Ministry should not delay a proper resolution to early buyers who did not get the rebates and discounts offered by the federal government for later purchases.
“This upcoming Parliamentary session, (on July 13) I will raise up a question again to the (Federal Housing and Local Government) Ministry for them to clarify on their plans to address this issue faced by the early buyers so that it is fair and they also can enjoy some of the incentives and rebates offered by the government.
“At the beginning of 2019, a discount of up to 30 per cent was offered by PR1MA Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) for new PR1MA buyers throughout Malaysia.
“I welcome all initiatives to reduce the cost of housing for new house buyers, however this affects the early buyers who managed to purchase PR1MA albeit at a slightly higher price.
“The 30 per cent (discounts) can reach up to RM 90,000 and while this is good for the new buyers, it is unfair for those that have made the earlier purchase,” he said in a statement.
Dr Yii said he has raised the issue of early buyers for PR1MA to be given discounts or rebates in Parliament multiple times.
Besides, Dr Yii added that he had also met up with Federal Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin on the matter.
In that meeting, Dr Yii said he had spoken to Zuraida specifically on the PR1MA houses in Kuching, and Sarawak because there is one PR1MA housing project in his constituency which is in Bintawa.
Following that meeting, Dr Yii asserted that Zuraida has agreed to come to Kuching to have an open dialogue with PR1MA buyers to explain the situation as well as to come up with a way forward.
Dr Yii noted that the meeting was supposedly scheduled on November 23 last year but it was postponed due to last minute changes by Zuraida without any proper explanation then.
“I (have) requested a new date but yet until now there were no new dates given and I highly regret that this issue is delayed again,” Dr Yii added. —DayakDaily
