Putrajaya to erase ‘1Malaysia’ from housing projects

Housing minister Zuraida Kamaruddin says the tagline is a 'nightmare' for Malaysians.

The PR1MA housing project is one of many bearing the 1Malaysia tagline promoted by Najib Razak. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said housing projects bearing the “1Malaysia” tagline will be renamed, and this includes the government’s affordable housing scheme Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia, or PR1MA.

Zuraida Kamaruddin.

“The re-branding of these projects and future new projects are currently being addressed by the PH government,” she said.

She said the “1Malaysia” tagline, which was aggressively promoted by Najib Razak after he took office in 2009, had become a “nightmare” for Malaysians.

“So, God-willing, we will improve, beautify and cheer up this nightmare for the people,” she told the Dewan Rakyat today.

Zuraida said Putrajaya would consolidate all PR1MA housing matters under her ministry.

“Once it is done, we can take the next course of action,” she said.

She was responding to a question from RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) who asked whether the PH government would rebrand PR1MA as the current name was associated with the previous government.

Zuraida added that the government was committed to providing homes especially to the B40s, the bottom 40% of households with monthly income below RM3,900.

She said a key problem is in acquiring land to build houses.

“We don’t want land which is located in isolated areas or too far away from civilisation. So we hope the respective state governments would look into this and work with us,” she said

As of August 2017, 8,475 units of PR1MA homes had been completed, out of the 500,000 promised by the previous government. -FMT