375,000 benefited from TP1M, says Halimah

KOTA TINGGI: Some 375,000 people have benefited from the 1Malaysia Maintenance Fund (TP1M) with RM395mil disbursed for the upgrading and maintenance of low-cost and medium low-cost flats nationwide since 2014, says Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique.

The Local Government and Housing deputy minister said maintenance works had been carried out on some 80,000 private and government-owned flats.

“The types of repair and maintenance depend on the condition of the buildings,” she said after launching the Social Transformation Programme under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) here yesterday.

Halimah welcomed another RM200mil for the programme through Budget 2018.

“With the amount, more flats can be repaired and upgraded,” she said, adding the Joint Management Bodies have to write to the local authorities to apply for the funds.

She said the local authorities would be in charge of looking into the applications and advising the ministry on areas that needed to be given priority, as the local councils understand the needs of their areas.

Halimah said apart from the TP1M, the Government had also forked out RM496mil through the ministry for 3,783 minor infrastructure projects for the past two years. The projects included repairing and carrying out upgrading work of roads and drainage systems, and improving lighting in buildings.