KUALA LUMPUR: The poor must not be left on the sidelines even as Malaysian cities reinvent themselves to face the future, said Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.
“We are focusing on future cities to make sure it is inclusive.
“Whatever we do, it has to be people-centric. Future cities should take care of all – regardless of their economic and social background.
“Everyone should be able to chant the slogan ‘My city, My home’,” he told The Star at the sidelines of Future Cities Summit 2024 here yesterday.
Nga said Malaysia must also build future cities which are sustainable.
“Currently, Malaysia has achieved 48% of the indicators under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), far above the world average of 17%. With the right policies and political will, Malaysia can build future cities which are inclusive of all, even the hardcore poor,” he said.
“We believe with unwavering determination and clear policies, we will move in the right direction.
“It would be pointless if you have skyscrapers and people are unhappy.
“This is why in our policies, we have decided that our future cities must have a lot of open space and a lot of greenery, providing a sustainable lifestyle.
“To achieve this, we will need a whole-nation approach. It is not the responsibility of the government alone, people must also be part of the team in creating a sustainable city,” said Nga.
In particular, he reminded strata property dwellers to do their part by paying their share of management fees and sinking funds for the upkeep of their properties.
“In line with ensuring the best housing practices, we have rebranded the PPR (Program Perumahan Rakyat) to become PRR (Program Residensi Rakyat) – which will be launched on Oct 30 that incorporates the latest components which we will announce later.
“In PRR, everything is by access card – if you pay your maintenance, your access card will be activated. If you fail to pay the maintenance, access will be denied.
“There will be two access cards for each unit in PRR – one is to go through gated (guards), and the second card will allow access to the lifts,” said Nga.
He said the recent Budget 2025 had allocations for maintenance of lifts in high-rise public housing units as lifts tend to break down easily with heavy usage.
