PPR flats’ low quality construction a legacy of Barisan, says exco

Many public housing projects in Selangor were built hastily as part of the then Barisan Nasional government’s zero-squatter policy. Today, the buildings are in a state of disrepair. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, February 4, 2015.

Questions have been raised over the state of the ‎People's Housing Projects (PPR) flats, after‎ a five-year old‎ fell to his death from the sixth floor of a low-cost apartment last Wednesday.‎

‎The flat in Section 8 Kota Damansara was reportedly in a state of disrepair long before the boy fell through the gap of a railing there, despite dozens of complaints lodged by the residents.

Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlers exco ‎Datuk Iskandar Abdul Samad conceded that the build quality of the PPR flats was shoddy, but pinned the blame on the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) state government.

"This is because the apartments were constructed hastily as they wanted to solve the zero-squatter problem during the time of the BN state government," he told The Malaysian Insider.

Selangor's "zero squatters" policy was mooted in 2001 under the BN administration. The then Selangor menteri besar, Dr Mohamed Khir Toyo, had ordered for the PPR flats to be built to reduce the number of squatters in the state.

Up until December 2007, 46,288 of the 46,941 squatter families  or 97.5%, had moved into PPR apartments.

Iskandar said the maintenance and management of the PPR flat in Section 8 Kota Damansara, where the boy died, was under the jurisdiction of the Federal Development Office‎ of Selangor (ICU).

A Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) circular dated January 30 stated that the ICU and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had agreed in a letter on August 28, 2014 to take over the task of installing railings in the flats, at an estimated cost of RM1.9 million.

‎‎The circular said the task had yet to be carried out, and that the ICU and PMO ‎were working on it.

The state government has come under fire after the boy's tragic death, as PPR residents felt the authorities failed to repair the structural defects of the buildings, which could have prevented such an accident.

‎It is understood that the police are now investigating whether the accident was linked to the railings.‎

‎Commenting on the accident, Iskandar said the state government took the matter seriously, and that Perumahan Dan Hartanah Selangor Sdn Bhd (PHSSB) would carry out repairs immediately for the sake of the residents' safety and comfort.

He added that the Selangor Housing and Property‎ Board (LPHS) would take over the maintenance of PPR flats from MBPJ.

He said the state government had allocated RM5 million in this year's budget to repair the PPR homes.

"This covers repairs for the lifts, water pipes and railings on balconies and stairs. The repairs will begin as soon as possible.”

When asked to respond to allegations that the PPR flats were built with no safety features, Iskandar said the state government would try to overcome this and that LPHS would carry out checks on all low-cost houses in Selangor in the near future.‎

"Before this, in 2012, 12 lifts and eight water pumps were repaired or replaced for more than RM1.6 million in the PPR in Kota Damansara.‎

"For the PPR in ‎Putra Damai, Lembah Subang, 17 lifts and 16 water pumps were repaired or replaced that year for RM1.9 million.”

‎Iskandar, who is also the Chempaka assemblyman, said that since the problems were a legacy of the past administration, the Pakatan Rakyat state government had carried out the Caring Government for Residence's Improvement Aid (Ceria) programme, in which the cost of the repairs would be shared by the state government (80%) and (20%).

"Since 2012, more than 120 apartments were repaired for more than RM13 million, and it involved painting the buildings, the ceilings, the water pipes, constructing fences and more."

- TMI