KUALA LUMPUR - The government may restrict the number of tenants in residential units in Kuala Lumpur as foreign workers are packed like sardines in some of them.
According to a report in China Press today, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor said the authorities concerned are considering amending the current law or formulating new legislation to stop house owners from taking in too many tenants.
He said some irresponsible property owners rent part of their shophouses, apartments or houses to foreign workers in numbers that are many times these units are meant to accommodate.
"At present, we don't have any law to limit the number of occupants in residential units. We (the government) also don't know how to deal with such errant property owners," Tengku Adnan told the daily in an interview last week, the first since he assumed the post four months ago.
"This is one of the most challenging issues I have encountered since I took over the ministry. I have directed the ministry's legal advisers to study the feasibility of formulating a new legislation or to amend the existing law."
He believed the local authority, which comes under the Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Ministry, is best suited to implement the cap on occupants in residential units in the city once the relevant regulations are in place.
The Federal Territories Ministry and City Hall will study the enforcement aspect, he said.
Tengku Adnan admitted that the problem of illegal foreign workers has become a serious issue in Kuala Lumpur, and the authorities must take appropriate action to deal with the situation.
"Many places occupied by foreign workers have very poor sanitary conditions. Rubbish is littered all over the place and people spit everywhere," he said.
The minister said foreign workers can be seen packed like sardines in rented houses or apartments in Jalan Imbi, Bukit Bintang, Kampung Baru, Keramat, Kampung Kerinchi, Bangsar, Segambut and Kepong.
"As many as 20 people may be crammed into a 650sq ft house, resulting in poor sanitary conditions."
The Sundaily
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