By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Feb 1: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak hopes the Sarawak government can lend support to the federal Ministry of Housing and Local Government to create more affordable housing.
The ministry’s special officer in the state, Voon Shiak Ni, said the state and federal governments could collaborate on this matter for the benefit of people, especially those in the B40 or low-income group.
“We welcome the positive move to build more affordable housing by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg and the state government’s policy to subsidise half of the costs for buyers,” she told a press conference at the PKR Stampin Branch office here today.
The federal ministry launched the National Housing Policy for 2018-2025 last Monday, and the plan is to build one million units of affordable homes for the B40 groups within the next 10 years.
“The action plans are focused to provide better housing facilities for the people and enable the lower income community to own a house for their family.
“As such, the federal minister, Zuraida Kamaruddin, is hopeful that the chief minister and state government can lend support to achieve this in Sarawak by identifying and providing suitable state lands to implement the project,” said Voon.
She added that the federal ministry planned to build 10,000 units of affordable houses in Sarawak annually.
“We hope to get the green light to acquire suitable state lands that are not too rural or remote from the city or suburb to enable us to proceed with the project. If the land is too far away, the cost of transportation will be an issue as it will definitely add a financial burden on people in the low-income group,” she said.
The federal ministry, she continued, would be organising a property expo in March to offer discounts and great deals to home buyers.
“We plan to conduct the same property expo in the Sarawak context if the expo in March is effective and positive,” she shared. — DayakDaily
