Dr Sim: RM271 mln for housing under ‘Project Rakyat’

A TOTAL of nine ‘Project Rakyat’ projects will be carried out by the Sarawak government with an allocation of RM271 million, said Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.

“Out of this, two projects are ongoing, namely the upgrading of the infrastructure works for Rumah Spektra Permata (RSP) village expansion scheme (SPK) Igan and RSP SPK Tian Matu,” said Dr Sim, who is the Public Health, Housing and Local Government Minister, in his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly yesterday.

Dr Sim said the remaining seven projects are under various stages of implementation, involving 421 units of RSP within SPK in Kuching, Kota Samarahan, Betong, Mukah and Limbang.

Speaking on the Sarawak Rental Assistance Scheme, Dr Sim said an allocation of RM48 million has been approved under the initiative that will benefit 20,000 eligible households from the low-income group to receive a monthly rental assistance of RM200 for a maximum of 36 months.

A total of 1,335 applications have been approved so far, he added.

Moreover, Dr Sim said Mutiara Mortgage and Credit Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Housing Development Corporation (HDC), has allocated RM40 million for the Housing Deposit and Repayment Assistance Scheme that will benefit 4,000 home buyers.

“Any home buyer that was approved with a 100 per cent loan financing from other private financial institutions is eligible for monthly repayment assistance of RM200 up to 48 months.”

The scheme is an advancement version of the Housing Deposit Assistance Scheme (HDAS) initiative, whereby a house upfront deposit payment cash assistance subject to a maximum of RM10,000 will be granted to eligible applicants.

Dr Sim also told the august House the Tribunal for Housing Purchaser Claims had settled 325 cases in the past three years.

Furthermore, he said the state government has allocated RM14.7 million for this year alone to mitigate flooding problems across the state.