MIRI – It is wrong for the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leaders to go around the state saying that they are building “affordable homes” for the people when such houses cost a minimum of RM300,000 per unit in the market, said Parti Bersatu Sarawak (PSB).
PSB branch chief for the Pujut state constituency Bruce Chai said very few B40 income earners can afford a house that costs RM300,000.
He told The Vibes today that random surveys that his office had carried out in Miri showed that most B40 households earn less than RM2,000 per month.
“Many B40 workers earn minimum wages and their take-home pay after various deductions amounts to just about RM1,000.
“Even if the family has the husband and wife working, and both of them earn around RM1,000 each, their combined salaries per month will not be able to secure them a house costing RM300,000.
“Families with many children will be in an even worse situation,” he said.
He observed that bills for household expenditures, food, utilities, transportation, handphones, schooling needs and the like are already hefty enough for these low-income earners.
In Miri, as is the case in the rest of urban Sarawak, houses cost at least RM300,000 per unit and they are beyond the reach of not just people in the B40 group but also many in the M40 category.
“It is therefore misleading to label houses costing RM300,000 per unit as ‘affordable homes’,” he said.
Chai is the PSB candidate for Pujut and a former Miri city councillor. He manages a cargo transportation business here.
He suggested that the GPS state government construct houses costing about RM150,000 per unit specifically for B40 earners.
“That can then be called ‘affordable homes’,” he said, adding that the payment system must be less burdensome on the lower-income earners.
On November 24, it was announced that another 695 units of “affordable houses” costing RM300,000 each have been approved for construction for the B40 group in Miri.
Sarawak caretaker Chief Minister Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said the houses are to be located at Vista Perdana Phase 3, about 20km from the city centre.
Each of the single-storey houses will have three rooms, two toilets and bathrooms.
Johari said more of such affordable houses are also being planned for Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching. – The Vibes, November 27, 2021
