KUALA LUMPUR – The federal government has been urged to provide more residential units under the People’s Housing Programme (PPR) in Sandakan which has an acute problem of low-cost housing due to project delays and the proliferation of squatter settlements.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Vivian Wong Shir Yee (Sandakan-PH) urged Deputy Minister of Local Government Development Akmal Nasrullah (Johor Baru-PH) according to the 12th Malaysian Plan.
She said there are 30,090 units of PPR houses being built in Sabah currently but Sandakan has been left out of the initiative.
Last December, Kg Forest, a squatter settlement, was hit by high tide that destroyed 108 houses, leaving 126 families homeless, she said.
Until now, 41 families have still not been relocated to the local PPR housing yet, she stated.
She said that the Local Government Development Ministry needs to look into the high pricing of PPR application forms in Sandakan because it burdens the B40 community who want to apply to the scheme.
In response, Akmal said that Sabah is the state with the highest number of PPR houses, making up 21.4% of the nationwide total.
Sandakan has nine ongoing PPR projects with 6,080 units. So far, 4,833 units have been booked and 1,247 units are on hold, he stated.
He said the units are on hold as they need to be renovated due to vandalism and damage when they were occupied as part of a Covid-19 care centre.
Responding to the high price of application form sales, he said forms are also available freely online at https://sprn.kpkt.gov.my/.
The deputy minister welcomed any new suggestions or advice from the Sabah state government regarding the affordable housing scheme. – The Vibes, February 21, 2023,
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