153,712 AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS FAILED TO BE DEVELOPED IN JOHOR OVER PAST 25 YEARS

ISKANDAR PUTERI, June 21 (Bernama) -- A total of 153,712 affordable housing units in Johor have failed to be developed by their respective developers over the past 25 years, the State Assembly was told today.

State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said the number was obtained from the Planning Permission and Layout Plan approval data obtained from all local authorities statewide.

He said the failure to build the houses should be quickly addressed with new and more effective strategies and monitoring, especially now when the construction of more luxurious housing projects had become rampant.

“The establishment of the Johor State Housing Development Corporation (PKPJ) which replaces the functions of the Housing Division at the State Secretary’s Office is a manifestation of the state government’s commitment to providing more housing segments, especially for the B40 and M40 groups.” 

He said this in reply to Pandak Ahmad (BN-Kota Iskandar), Anuar Abd Manap (BN-Pemanis) and Abdul Aziz Talib (BN-Maharani) during question time.

Mohd Jafni said the state government has also asked the PKPJ to study the setting up of a Planning and Design Review Committee (PDRC), which would comprise the representatives from relevant departments and agencies, to evaluate, monitor and facilitate applications for the development of affordable houses.

He said the PKPJ would also become the centralised database to ensure more effective coordination for the development of affordable and transit houses involving the state government, the federal government and private housing developers.

-- BERNAMA