KOTA KINABALU: Local authorities (PBT) in Sabah have been instructed to crack down on people who were given affordable housing by the government but are renting them out to others for a quick buck.
Issuing the order, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor (pic) said he wants the PBTs to monitor the People's Housing Project (PPR) in their respective areas to ensure no abuse of the programme by recipients.
Hajiji said that there have been cases where successful applicants of the programme have rented out their houses to others to make quick profits.
"Their actions showed that they do not need the houses thus denying others deserving such facilities,” he said, during a working visit to the Local Government and Housing Ministry at Wisma Innoprise here on Monday (Aug 5).
“Hence, I want all PBTs to scrutinise all applications and to strictly monitor the implementation of the PPR programme in their areas.
"Those who get the houses under the PPR programme are not allowed to rent it out," he added.
The Chief Minister also said that the state government had applied for 5,000 PPR houses for Sabah next year.
"I have met with the federal Housing and Local Government Minister (Nga Kor Ming) recently and requested that 5,000 PPR houses for Sabah be included in the Ministry's budget for next year," he said.
Hajiji also wanted the local authorities to come up with more cleanliness awareness programmes.
He said the never-ending rubbish issues are due to the lack of cleanliness awareness among the people.
On the issue of squatter colonies raised during the briefing by the Ministry’s permanent secretary Datuk Dr Jamili Nais, Hajiji said it is important that the local government enforcement units resolve the matter firmly.
"If they see a few structures erected on state land in their areas, they should stop it. Do not wait until there are full-blown squatter settlements which will then cause further complications," Hajiji said.
In his briefing, Jamili said there are 281 squatter colonies in Sabah with the highest being in Sabah's capital, followed by Sandakan and Tawau.
He said that three districts, Kota Belud, Tuaran, and Ranau had zero colonies.
Meanwhile, Hajiji instructed the PBT officers to be more proactive and to conduct frequent inspections of public amenities such as drainage and street lights in order to provide the best services to the people.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister II and Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam said various approaches have been taken and implemented to ensure that all 25 PBTs, departments, and agencies under the ministry move actively.
Gunsalam said that three PBTs have municipal council status following the recent elevation of the Penampang District Council.
He explained that he had set emphasis on poverty eradication in the PBT administrative areas and taken swift actions to resolve squatter colonies issues.
"Resolving the squatter issues needs an integrated approach involving all relevant agencies in the state," he said.
