GEORGE TOWN – Penang executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo returned to work today, some 12 days after he suffered an ankle injury following an alleged misunderstanding with a British national here.
The incident, which turned into a brief altercation, saw the suspect, a 60-year-old Englishman, remanded by the police for two days before being released.
The case is currently being investigated under Section 325 of the Penal Code.
Speaking at an official event over Facebook Live this morning, Jagdeep spoke on affordable housing needs in Penang.
Seated beside officers of the state housing board, the Datuk Keramat assemblyman said that he was confident the state will hit its target of constructing 220,000 affordable housing units of various categories by 2030 to mark the state’s Vision 2030 mission.
“We have now completed 62.8% of our target. As of mid-June, we have built 138,041 units of affordable housing and we have also set a target that 10% of such units would be devoted to the rent-to-own loan scheme,” said Jagdeep.
The scheme is catered to first-time buyers who were unable to get housing loan approvals from licensed financial institutions.
He also disclosed a new category for the rent-to-own scheme specifically for civil servants who also cannot qualify for a housing bank loan here.
Jagdeep also revealed that Penang has set aside a total of 29.25ha in five districts for the federal government’s contractors to build more affordable units here.
The state has offered housing under categories such as low cost, low medium and medium cost in Penang, with prices ranging from RM42,000 to RM300,000.
In 2020, the waiting list for such units was reportedly to be around 55,000 but is expected to rise gradually in tandem with the reopening of the economy and the demand from the younger generation to own homes. – The Vibes, June 28, 2022
