Zuraida wants housing agencies to be under one roof

PUTRAJAYA: A cabinet paper on a suggestion to place all housing agencies under the Housing and Local Government Ministry will be presented to the cabinet next month.

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said this was to streamline and unify all housing projects nationwide under one roof.

“Once we receive the approval, we will study the status of all housing agencies. With that, we can streamline everything with the formation of the National Affordable Housing Council.

“With everything streamlined under the Housing and Local Government Ministry, we can control housing development, especially People’s Housing Projects in terms of distribution, pricing, design and management.

“This streamlining will involve all housing agencies, including Federal Territories Affordable Homes; 1Malaysia Housing Project, 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing and Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd .

“I hope that by August, housing projects in the country can be streamlined under a system that is more compact and effective,” she here yesterday.

She said the ministry would also study the specifications and facilities of affordable homes to ensure comfort for its owners, including by assessing the size of the living room, rooms and dining hall, community centres and childcare centres.

She said the ministry had established a special unit which would study housing development laws to ensure that the infrastructure was women-friendly and had the necessary safety features.

Zuraida said the ministry would also meet with the Finance Ministry as well as Bank Negara Malaysia to discuss the problem of first-time home buyers who have problems obtaining housing loans.

She said the Housing and Strata Management Tribunal would be empowered by the addition of seven presidential panels and translators to ensure that cases were handled in a speedy and efficient manner.