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15th January, 2010
KOTA MARUDU: The state government needs to have some housing schemes in addition to the federal government’s Program Bantuan Rumah (PBR) in order for targets under the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) for the poor to be achieved.
In making the proposal, Kota Marudu MP Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said the housing needs of Sabah’s rural poor, including those in longhouses, were too great and additional measures had to be put in place to hasten the achievement of the NKRAs targets.
Dr Maximus, who is Science, Technology & Innovation Minister, said Sarawak for example, has additional schemes for the poor aside from the federal assistance, such as the Longhouse loan scheme in which each longhouse household could apply for a RM10,000 loan to repair their homes.
He added that in Kota Marudu, there were 1,495 hardcore poor households eligible for housing aid under the e-kasih programme but annually, the allocation is only available for some 60 housing in each parliamentary constituency.
“Therefore, it would take at least 20 years to meet the housing needs of the poor here,” he said, adding as such it would also be impossible to reach the target to eradicate hardcore poor in the country in the shortest period.
Dr Maximus hence proposed three types of assistance the state government could provide.
One is renovation or repair assistance for those whose homes are still reasonably fit to live in, secondly, the PBR model of free housing for the hardcore poor being provided by the federal Rural and Regional Development Ministry (KKLW), and thirdly, interest-free loans for the same house.
“For example, the state government can provide repair grants of between RM10,000 and RM15,000 per household , compared with the RM40,000 to RM50,000 per unit it would cost to provide the poor with new homes under the PBR,” he said.
Elaborating on the seriousness of the problem in the rural areas, Dr Maximus said in Matunggong which is a state seat under his constituency, some 70 per cent of the 30 longhouses there are dilapidated and in need of major repairs, with some unsafe to live in.
“The longhouses were built during the time of the Berjaya government. Repair to one longhouse under the federal assistance had been completed, while tenders for three longhouses will be awarded soon and three others in the process of approval.
“We have been providing assistance to longhouses in the constituency including Marimbau Darat for repair in the form of zinc and plywood, but these are insufficient especially for longhouses that have aged and require major repair,” he said during a visit the Marimbau Darat and Rita longhouses in Matunggong on Jan 14.
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