KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): A total of 18 projects under the 1Malaysia Housing Programme (PR1MA) currently being developed nationwide have been identified as "sick" projects.
Deputy Local Government Development Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the special team set up by the ministry to review delayed, sick and abandoned projects had set the target to resolve issues concerning 10 projects within a year.
“However, it depends on the current situation, including manpower, approval at the local government level and utilities,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat here on Wednesday (March 8).
He was responding to a supplementary question from Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir (Perikatan Nasional-Setiu), who wanted to know about the total number of abandoned PR1MA projects nationwide and the criteria for the land selected for the projects.
Akmal Nasrullah said through the special team, the ministry not only monitors delayed, sick and abandoned projects under government-related agencies or companies, but also private housing projects.
Regarding initiatives to assist first-time home buyers, especially those in the bottom 40% household income group (B40), he said the ministry had collaborated with the Ministry of Finance to launch the Malaysian Housing Financing initiative (i-Biaya).
“One of the programmes under i-Biaya is the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme for non-fixed income earners.
“Under the Madani Budget 2023, the government plans to continue providing guarantees of up to RM5 billion to benefit 20,000 borrowers, compared with around RM2 billion in the previous budget,” he said.
In addition, Akmal Nasrullah said the ministry introduced the rent-to-own (RTO) scheme for the People’s Housing Programme (PPR) in 2017 to assist those in the B40 who failed to secure financing from any banks.
“The RTO scheme has been implemented in 14 PPRs nationwide, involving 6,066 housing units. As of Dec 31, 2022, a total of 4,690 families were offered the scheme, with 1,376 housing units remaining.
“The ministry is also looking into diversifying financing schemes to help target groups own a house, especially the B40,” he said in response to Shaharizukirnain’s original question.
Shaharizukirnain wanted to know whether the government plans to provide housing subsidies for first-time home buyers among the B40 and the middle 40% household income group.
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