JOHOR BARU – More than 50% of public flats in Johor are categorised as dirty and found to have various maintenance problems, said State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor.
He said special allocation should be provided by the federal government to the state for the maintenance of these flats.
According to him, the public flats are different from People’s Housing Projects (PPR) or government rental houses, which are provided special allocations for maintenance by the government through the Local Government Development Ministry.
“There are over 100 public flats in the state and according to the data, 100 of them are in the Greater Johor Baru area, namely under the Johor Baru City Council, Iskandar Puteri City Council, Pasir Gudang City Council, and the Kulai Municipal Council,” he told reporters after visiting the Taman Ungku Tun Aminah flats here today.
Jafni said there was no special government allocation for these flats as they are private residences managed by residents through the establishment of joint management bodies.
However, more than 70% of these flats are able to collect sufficient monthly maintenance payments from occupants to carry out repair work, he added.
Yesterday, the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar expressed his disappointment over the poor condition of buildings, maintenance, and cleanliness of low-cost flats in the state.
According to His Majesty, most of the low-cost flats in Johor are dirty and in poor condition, with indiscriminate disposal of rubbish, making them convenient breeding grounds for rodents, pests, and insects, and hoped that the federal government will provide assistance to repair the old low-cost flats.
At the same time, His Majesty said residents of these flats must also take responsibility for maintaining the cleanliness of their areas. – Bernama, May 16, 2023
