Penang Gerakan has urged the state government to buck up on its housing programme for the people as not a single LMC (low-medium cost) house has been built between 2008 and 2010.

Penang Gerakan Housing Bureau chief Quah Kooi Heong said Penangites are disappointed that the state government had failed to build affordable homes for the needy in Penang.

“Although Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had recently announced that LMCs will be built in Batu Kawan on the mainland, it would not solve the LMC shortage problem on the island,” said Quah at a press conference on Wednesday at the Penang Gerakan Headquarters in Jalan Macalister.

Quah also said that instead of building LMCs for the people of Penang, the state government decided to transfer its social obligations to build the LMCs to a private developer to develop the 102 acres of land in Bayan Mutiara for integrated development.

He said this move would increase the cost of the LMC as well as defeat the concept of affordable housing by the state government for the people.

“In fact, the state government should through PDC build LMCs on state or MPPP land and not to make quick profits by selling state or MPPP-owned land to private developers,” Quah added.

Quah also claimed that changes in state government policies, namely allowing increase of density above permissible density, waiver in the collection of quit rent and land assessment, increase of land conversion premiums and increase in rezoning fees and development charges would further burden the people of Penang.

Thus, Quah called on the state government to review its housing policies, especially in addressing the LMC housing problem before it became irreparable.

The state government, he said, should also stop receiving contribution amounting to RM40,000 from developers in lieu of providing LMC housing for the people and to strictly enforce the existing 30% LMC units requirement.

by Editorial Desk
gerakan4u.com