KOTA KINABALU – The Tg Aru low-cost public flat tenants facing eviction who were not offered resettlement by the owner, Sabah Housing and Urban Development Board (LPPB), to other low-cost housing have been advised to seek alternative options.
Putatan MP Datuk Shahelmey Yahya has called on tenants who are no longer eligible for the housing facility to actively seek other housing means.
Shahelmey, who is also Sabah deputy chief minister cum state works minister, said he has made all efforts to assist them, but emphasised that resettlement to other low-cost housing would only be offered to those in need.
“I have forwarded the tenants’ requests to the chief minister, and the matter has been referred to the Local Government and Housing Ministry.
“Still, as a compassionate government, resettlement options are reserved for those who meet the criteria,” he said.
Tenants who are no longer eligible for the facility have been notified that their tenancy contracts will not be renewed.
“Therefore, it is their responsibility to proactively seek alternative accommodation,” he said after the launch of the Sabah Works Ministry Integrity Week here today.
Shahelmey was speaking in his capacity as the Putatan MP of which Tg Aru is one of the state constituencies under the federal seat.
While the deadline for vacating the Tg Aru low-cost flats is this month, around 100 tenants are believed to have chosen to defy the eviction order by the LPPB.
The eviction notices have been served to the tenants since 2021 but some tenants refused and demanded to be offered other low-cost housing.
They had also sought Shahelmey’s help to resolve their demands.
A ten-year cap has been set as one of the guidelines to occupy any LPPB low-cost housing facility, during which time, tenants are advised to save up and buy or rent other accommodation, to allow other low-income individuals to enjoy the facility.
The Vibes has reliably learnt that some of the tenants in Tg Aru have lived there since the 1980s.
LPPB has declared all the apartment blocks unsafe and hence issued the eviction.
LPPB chairman Datuk Masiung Banah has hinted that the buildings will be demolished and the area would be redeveloped. – The Vibes, July 3, 2023
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