Poor condition of low-cost flats an eye-opener at state assembly

GEORGE TOWN: Revelations of squalid living conditions in many low-cost flats on the mainland put a dampener on the first sitting of the state assembly meeting.

“Yes, I woke up in the morning and saw The Star. I looked at the published photos and agree that some of the low-cost flats are unlivable.

“I admit that we have this problem in Penang,” state Housing, Local Government and Town and Country Planning Committee chair- man Jagdeep Singh Deo said in reply to several assemblymen who asked about housing supply.

The Star published photos yesterday of abandoned low-cost flat units, bereft of doors and filled with trash.

Several hundred such units, mostly in South Seberang Prai, have become unlivable because occupiers did not pay maintenance fees from as low as RM20 a month.

Jagdeep said it was largely the mentality of the residents that brought upon the problem of their homes being turned into slums.

“The residents need to change their mindset. The government is willing to foot 80% of the cost to maintain their flats,” he added.

Even Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow made a reference to the report.

“The state sympathises with owners and occupants who cannot afford to repair the damage to lifts and other facilities to the point of suffering.

“We spend about RM10mil a year maintaining public housing pro- jects and next year, we have a RM8.4mil budget for it.

“For private property, we have allocated RM6.8mil to the state Maximum 80% Housing Maintenance Fund for next year.

“Since 2013, we approved 295 maintenance projects worth RM25.65mil,” he said while tabling the Penang 2019 Budget.

Speaking to reporters, Jagdeep said the state would strive to find a way to help the affected residents.

“If the flats’ management com- mittees cannot collect maintenance fees to cover the remaining 20%, the area’s assemblymen may have to use their allocation.

“We won’t disburse the funds to the management committees. We can pay the contractors directly.

“But this is a great burden on assemblymen whose constituencies have low-cost flats which are in bad shape. These residents must change the way they think and be responsible about caring for their homes,” he said.