Call for probe into alleged irregularity in low-cost flats allocation in Selangor

KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry on May 24 asked the Selangor government to immediately investigate what could be irregularities in the allocation of low-cost flats by housing developers in the state.

Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha said the ministry had not received any complaint from the public on the matter.

However, a newspaper had reported that 500 employees of the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) owned low-cost flats in Petaling Jaya when they were ineligible for such housing.

Kong said the ministry was not involved in low-cost housing projects in the state as they were state government projects.

"They are state government projects developed by private developers. After completion, only the state government or the local authorities are entitled to determine the buyers of the housing units," he told reporters after a visit to the Bukit Jalil 1 and 2 People's Housing Project, here.

Kong said that though the ministry had not received any complaint from the public, the matter should be investigated if there was any truth to the claim of irregularities.

Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association executive secretary Datuk Nadzim Johan asked the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the so-called irregularities in the distribution of low-cost houses to the low-income people in Petaling Jaya.

He was commenting on the alleged distribution of low-cost flats to 500 MBPJ employees who he claimed were ineligible for such housing.

"Developers should be sensitive to the plight of the low-income people and any irregularity would foil their hope of owning a house," he told Bernama.

He suggested that government bodies such as Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd take over the low-cost housing projects for the sake of the low-income people.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) advisor Prof Datuk Mohd Hamdan Adnan said the MACC should look into the matter because there could be elements of corruption and abuse of power in the allocation of the low-cost houses.

He said the image of the state government and the federal government would be tarnished if the matter was not resolved immediately.

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association of Malaysia president Datuk Ng Seing Liong expressed disappointment over the existence of developers who allowed ineligible people to own low-cost houses.

"Industry players have worked hard over the years to cross-subsidise affordable housing to achieve the nation's social agenda.

"We have shouldered such a task as required by the government despite rising costs throughout the years ... only to have profiteering government servants to make use of this system for their own ends," he lamented.

Meanwhile, on another matter, Kong said 3,792 units of houses at the Bukit Jalil 1 and 2 People's Housing Project could only be occupied at the end of the year at the latest after the condition of the slope at the back of the flats and theft incidents had been overcome.

"We will undertake treatment of the slope so that it would not endanger the residents and vehicles parked near the boulders. As for the thefts, we will replace the stolen equipment and step up security in the area," he said.

The project, which was completed in 2007, comprises six 18-storey blocks built on 21.05ha at a cost of RM189.2 million. -- Bernama