KUALA LUMPUR – 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 has set the target of resolving 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 at Dewan Rakyat here today.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir (Setiu-PN), who asked about the number of abandoned PR1MA projects nationwide and the criteria for land selected for the projects.
Akmal Nasrullah said through the special team, his ministry also monitors delayed, sick, and abandoned private projects, not just those under government-related agencies or companies.
Regarding initiatives to assist first-time home buyers, especially from the B40 group, he said his ministry has collaborated with the Finance Ministry 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 Madani Budget 2023, the government plans to continue providing guarantees of up to RM5 billion to benefit 20,000 borrowers, compared to around RM2 billion in the previous budget,” he said.
In addition, Akmal Nasrullah said his ministry introduced the Rent-to-Own (RTO) scheme for the People’s Housing Programme (PPR) in 2017 to assist those among the B40 who failed to secure bank financing.
“The RTO scheme has been implemented in 14 PPRs nationwide, involving 6,066 housing units. As of December 31, 2022, a total of 4,690 families have been 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 group,” 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 M40 groups. – Bernama, March 8, 2023
