ALOR STAR: Helping the people in the state to live comfortably in their homes has been the most important agenda for the Barisan Nasional-led Kedah government after being given the mandate
in the 13th General Election (GE13).
In its GE13 manifesto, BN had pledged to build 40,000 units
of affordable homes in five
years.
The state government has been working hard to fulfil that promise and has completed the construction and approval of 46,881 units of affordable homes, exceeding the initial target.
State Housing and Local Government, Water Supply, Water Resources and Energy Committee chairman Datuk Badrol Hisham Hashim said within the first three years in power, the BN-led state government had built 19,535 houses with a RM1.7 billion allocation.
He said 1,323 units involving RM61 million were under construction, 5,860 units involving RM700 million had been approved, while the remaining 12,352 units involving RM1 billion was in the planning stage.
“In 2013, 3,156 affordable
houses were built involving RM149 million by 11 agencies,
including the New Generation Felda Housing Project (PGBF) and Rumah Mesra Rakyat 1Malaysia.
“In total, between 2013 and last year, 27,346 units of houses were built in the state involving RM2.7 billion.
“If we include the 19,535 houses that are being planned, approved and developed this year, we have achieved our target of building 40,000 units of houses that we promised in GE13.”
He said besides the PGBF homes developed by the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), the construction of affordable homes in the state was
also carried out in cooperation with several agencies, including the National Housing Department and the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry.
Other agencies that also contributed to the initiative were Perbadanan Prima Bhd, Perumahan Penjawat Awam 1Malaysia, Syarikat Perumahan Negara
Bhd, Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah and Permodalan Kedah Bhd.
“We are grateful for the help we get from the Federal Government and agencies in fulfilling the promise.
“Kedahans should have confidence that the BN government keeps its promises in looking after their wellbeing.
“If there are no houses, we will build them.
“If the houses are not comfortable, we will make sure that they are comfortable to live in.
“If the space is small, we will expand it so that the people could sleep soundly, their children are happy and will spend more time at home,” Badrol
said.