LANGKAWI: The government is planning to move people living in the Bukit Malut squatter settlement, here, to a location with better housing.
“We know that they are not locals. They come from other places and had no house, so they built their own houses,” said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“These squatter houses are not nice. We will set up a plan to place them in better homes.
“The deputy prime minister (Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) had also issued a statement.
“We will follow up by having a plan to organise them so that they will stay in more proper housing.”
Asked whether the plan would resolve social problems reported in the Bukit Malut area, Dr Mahathir said: “Of course, if we can correct the housing problems, we can also resolve the social problems.”
Dr Mahathir, who is the member of parliament for Langkawi, said this after attending a Hari Raya Aidilfitri Open House for the Langkawi Parliamentary Constituency at the Sports Complex of the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada).
Dr Mahathir handed duit raya to imam, bilal, children and others.
About 10,000 residents from around Langkawi were at the event.
Meanwhile, asked to comment on the government’s proposal to recruit workers from Africa for the plantation sector, Dr Mahathir said the matter was still at the proposal stage.
“I am of the opinion that there are many people in Malaysia but the Malaysians do not want to work, so we give everything to the others.
“On the proposal, we have not made any option, it was merely a suggestion,” he added.
Also present at the event were his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, Ayer Hangat assemblyman Juhari Bulat and Kuah assemblyman Mohd Firdaus Ahmad. -- BERNAMA