Khazanah to lead integrated effort to improve PPR community wellbeing

KUALA LUMPUR – Khazanah Nasional Bhd (Khazanah) and several of its affiliates will do a comprehensive review of issues related to the People's Housing Projects (PPR) to address the common gaps in social housing in Malaysia through policy proposals, community empowerment and “placemaking” initiatives.

Khazanah said it will lead this collaboration with other entities under its umbrella such as Khazanah Research Institute (KRI), Yayasan Hasanah, and Think City in efforts to create liveable PPR communities.

Its managing director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said the collaboration among Khazanah entities will further strengthen its role as a sovereign wealth fund that is able to deal with key issues affecting the people.

“We praise Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement of the additional RM35 million allocation for community empowerment programmes for public housing communities in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

“This allocation will benefit 50,000 residents through the Kita-Untuk-Kita (K2K) programme led by Think City,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, KRI chairman Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said his team conducted a public policy study on the PPR programme and published the Residential Well-being of the Urban Poor: PPR Study report last March as a result of the participation of 3,878 households from five PPRs here and in Penang.

He said the report outlined an action plan that needed to be taken to address the weaknesses affecting the PPR programme, including a review of the social housing policy.

“The policy proposals include a focus on the quality of social housing, the government's role in maintaining an adequate social housing scheme, as well as the impact of providing social housing on the private housing market,” he said.

Meanwhile, Think City MD Hamdan Abdul Majeed said in line with the Malaysia Madani concept, the K2K programme encourages collective action for a more inclusive, resilient, and prosperous public housing community, as well as shared responsibilities to meet the needs and aspirations of the community.

“Initiatives by Khazanah and its affiliates can give momentum and further support to the government’s efforts in improving the lives of the PPR community, through related policies and jointly organised programmes,” he added. – Bernama, April 19, 2023