Sabah to address housing issues for the poor

 

Chief minister Hajiji Noor (left) and his deputy Bung Moktar Radin during the meeting in Kota Kinabalu this morning.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is looking to build more houses for the hardcore poor in rural and interior areas, said chief minister Hajiji Noor.

Hajiji said this would be prioritised under the people’s housing programme (PPRT) throughout Sabah.

At present, an average of just eight PPRT houses have been approved for construction in each state constituency.

He said RM500 million had been allocated under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) to build PPRT houses in Sabah, but the state would seek a bigger allocation from the federal government.

Hajiji was speaking when chairing the state development action council meeting at the state administrative centre here today.

The issue was discussed at length during the meeting attended by all state Cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries and department heads.

In terms of implementation, Hajiji said a request had also been submitted to the federal rural development ministry to consider giving opportunity to Class F contractors in Sabah to be involved in the project.

Earlier, he reminded all implementing federal and state agencies to continue improving their performance and the quality of projects for the people’s benefit.

According to him, poor workmanship has rendered some buildings unusable upon completion such as the one in Salagon, Beaufort.

The chief minister was also unhappy with the Sapulut-Kalabakan road that he found to be below par, compared to the North-South Highway which can accommodate trucks carrying bigger loads.

“I personally used this road (Sapulut-Kalabakan) before the last election and I could see damage here and there,” he said.

Hajiji called upon relevant ministries and agencies to not consider using contractors or consultants found to be incompetent and cause delays in government development projects.

He also pointed out that the recent uncovering of a cartel that monopolised 345 government tenders worth RM3.8 billion in the country had affected public confidence in the civil service.

“I view this matter seriously and I wish to remind all state and federal department heads to focus on delivering service with integrity, and being client-friendly in line with the government’s slogans and aspirations of humanising the civil service.

“I also warn that I will not compromise with any civil service personnel who act like ‘little Napoleons’ and jeopardise the Sabah Maju Jaya development plan,” Hajiji said.

Meanwhile, Hajiji said that as of April 5, Sabah had spent RM148 million or 2.57% of its RM4.99 billion allocation, in the first rolling plan of the 12MP.

Towards this end, he stressed on the need for all planned development projects to be implemented immediately.

“No more excuses … there is no reason for us to delay. Any policy that hinders development in Sabah must be changed, particularly those involving our jurisdiction and authority in Sabah,” he said. - FMT