5 public housing schemes in Penang to get facelift
Penang has identified five public housing schemes, three located on the island and two on the mainland, for urban regeneration project to give a new lease of life to old buildings.
The five projects are the Mahsuri, Rifle Range and the Taman Free School flats on the island, as well as the Mak Mandin and Jalan Siakap flats, on the mainland. The five projects involve a total of 5,469 units.
State Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the state was at the advanced stage of planning for the Mahsuri flats’ regeneration project, with most of the 300-unit residents having expressed their agreement to it.
“Under the present law, there is no clear provision as to whether the consent of everyone is unanimously required or otherwise, to embark on the regeneration project. So, until we get a clear answer, we can’t go ahead with the urban regeneration.
“That being said, we are going to the ground to monitor the conditions of the public housings, and to provide help in whichever way possible.
“Since 2008, when we took over the administration, we have spent some RM173 million to carry out works on old and rundown buildings. This is ongoing,” he said on the sidelines of the state legislative assembly sitting yesterday.
He was commenting on Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamarudin’s statement on Monday that all landed and multilevel properties under government housing schemes must be inspected every five years.
She had said that the provision was provided under the new National Housing Policy 2018-2025, which was formulated to ensure the safety of households at the respective properties.
Under the policy, the government was empowered to rebuild flats that were older than 30 years and deemed unsafe for residents.
Her statement came following the evacuation of 118 people from 37 families at Block F of the Taman Keramat Permai flats in Ampang Jaya, Selangor, following the discovery of the cracks at the block on Friday.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government was not only monitoring old government housing schemes but had also spent millions maintaining them.
He said the state had a dedicated fund for housing where the state paid 80 per cent while the residents paid the remaining 20 per cent.