MIRI – Affordable housing is a key area where opposition party Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) aims to drum up support as the state’s election campaign picks up pace.
The PSB candidate for Pujut, Bruce Chai, said matters on housing are among the critical issues Sarawakians face today, as can be seen by the large population of urban poor and squatters.
“In our PSB manifesto at the state level, our party has given high priority to housing as one of the key areas we will look into if we can form the next state government.
“For so many years, the problems relating to expensive houses, the mushrooming numbers of urban poor and squatters, and disputes over land titles have not been resolved.
“In fact, the problems are getting from bad to worse year after year.
“It is clear that the ruling state government has failed the rakyat in terms of providing adequate affordable and low-cost homes and resettlement schemes.
“PSB will offer freehold titles, build enough affordable houses for urban poor, and resettle squatters within five years if we win,” he told The Vibes.
Chai was formerly a councillor in the Miri city council, and is presently a business manager.
He is contesting against DAP candidate Alan Ling, mayor Adam Yii of GPS-SUPP, and Parti Bumi Kenyalang candidate Leslie Ting.
Chai said affordable housing is very lacking throughout Sarawak as profit-making projects are more often preferred, carried out by private developers or through joint ventures with the state government’s housing commission.
If PSB wins the state, he said, the party will build houses costing below RM200,000 per unit and help arrange easier payment schemes that will not financially burden buyers from lower-income groups.
Chai said that the so-called affordable houses in Miri, which cost RM300,000 and are built by the state in a joint venture with a private company, are beyond most average families.
He noted that even in Selangor, there are new houses costing less than RM300,000, which is not the case in Sarawak.
“The population of squatters and urban poor in Miri is increasing every year due to natural population increases and rural-to-urban migration.
“This increase of poor people without their own homes can also be seen in Bintulu, Sibu, and Kuching.
“We must deal with their urgent needs comprehensively,” he said.
PSB is contesting 70 out of 82 state seats, with Sarawakians set to head to the polls on December 18. – The Vibes, December 8, 2021
