PPA1M FOR GOVERNMENT STAFF IN SABAH

By : SHALINA R

THE FEDERAL and State civil servants in Sabah will have the opportunity to own affordable quality residential property, priced at 25 to 35 per cent lower than the local market rate, through the 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing or PPA1M scheme in the future.

“The process has already begun in Sabah. Both the state and federal governments are looking for a suitable land for the implementation of PPA1M,” said Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia Tan Sri Dr. Ali Hamsa.

He was speaking at a gathering of State and Federal civil servants at Yayasan Sabah in Kota Kinabalu on June 11th.

According to the Chief Secretary, a potential location has been identified in Tuaran. He said the vast area of land at the site can accommodate more than 1000 housing units that will most likely be of landed-property type.

Ali Hamsa said that a study will be conducted to determine the housing prices. The financial capability of federal and state civil servants working in Sabah, current market rates and cost of construction are factors that will be taken into consideration.

He indicated that the pricing would be lower than the market prices here. “The Mudah Cara Fund will help to reduce the prices of units without compromising quality,” he said.

Saying that the project could begin as early as 2014, Ali Hamsa estimated that all the planning pertaining to this scheme and land matter can be resolved within six months. “Once the land matter is resolved, we can move very fast to implement this scheme here,” he told reporters.

Introduced as a step to overcome the increasing demand for housing assistance, the PPA1M pilot project was launched in Putrajaya in April 2013. According to the Chief Secretary, the demand for housing currently stands at 110,000 units. He said the waiting list for living quarters in Putrajaya alone has increased by 7000 to 8000. (Insight Sabah).

GATHERING ....State and Federal Government servants came from across the state to attend the gathering.