Penang, under the DAP-led state government, has provided five times more affordable homes for bumiputeras compared to the previous BN administration, said state exco for housing Jagdeep Singh Deo.
Jagdeep was refuting a claim made by Penang Umno liaison committee chairperson Zainal Abidin Osman (photo) that the state is not interested in building homes for bumiputeras.
"Zainal's remark is not only inaccurate, but the opposite is true," Jagdeep said in a press conference at the Penang Development Corporation headquarters in Bayan Baru today.
Jagdeep said that from 2008 to 2017, Penang has built 24, 227 low- and medium-cost units, compared to 5,124 units built under the previous BN government.
"We have built five times more units than BN did prior to 2008," he quipped.
Jagdeep said the low- and medium-cost homes will be offered to qualified applicants following the quotas fixed by the state government under Penang’s Rancangan Struktur Kerajaan (Government Structural Plan).
The quota system was established under the previous government, where 50 percent of low-cost homes are reserved for bumiputera, 35 percent for Chinese, and 15 percent for Indians.
For medium-cost homes, 30 percent are reserved for bumiputeras, 55 percent for Chinese and 15 percent for Indians.
"The quota system is still used by the current government, whereby out of 24,227 units, 9,921 units are offered to bumiputeras, compared to 2,423 units under BN," he said.
Yesterday, Zainal made his accusation when querying the state's plans for affordable homes for bumiputeras, pointing out that the 2016 Auditor-General's Report stated that there is RM110.93 million in the Penang Bumiputera Housing Trust Fund, which had increased RM15.31 million from the previous year.
The increase was due to the contributions by developers for the release of bumiputera quotas for 49 housing projects or 1,663 units in 2016, the report stated.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (photo), who was at the same press conference, also took aim Zainal for his remark.
Lim said some RM60 million has already been spent to purchase units for bumiputeras, while two housing projects were being built on the Penang mainland.
He noted that RM44 million was used to purchase 320 units of medium-cost homes at Jalan SP Chelliah, George Town for bumiputeras.
"We do not only spent money to build affordable homes on the island, but also spent RM7.9 million in Kampung Tok Subuh, Bukit Mertajam, and another RM7.9 million at Kampung Kepala Gajah, Sungai Bakap.
"These projects involve low-cost homes worth RM42,000 each.
"There is a remainder of RM40.2 million in the Penang Bumiputera Housing Trust Fund, whereas of last year, the amount in the fund was RM100 million," added Lim. Mkini
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