The Penang government is puzzled whether the state will get any housing units by federal agency Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia, following conflicting reports on where the affordable homes will be built.
State housing exco Jagdeep Singh Deo said there were news reports yesterday on TV3 and New Straits Times Online quoting PR1MA chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias as saying that the PR1MA housing would be built in Bertam in Kepala Batas.
However, the report in The Malay Mail today quoting Mutalib stated that projects by PR1MA that are now open for applications are in Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Kedah, Malacca and Johor.
"There was no mention of Penang," Jagdeep said in a press conference today, urging Putrajaya to clarify if PR1MA houses were really being built in the state; and where, when and how many units would be built.
He said it was confusing as the local authorities had yet to receive any plans from PR1MA on the project in Bertam.
"Such confusion must come to an end," he said, adding that in a November 25 letter from Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim to the Penang government, it was mentioned that PR1MA planned to build units in Balik Pulau, Teluk Kumbar and Bukit Gelugor.
Jagdeep said it was important for Putrajaya and PR1MA to clarify the status of its plans in Penang when there were incidents of irresponsible parties using the agency's name to con house buyers.
He cited a report in Utusan Melayu on January 21 that some people pretending to be PR1MA agents had collected payments of thousands of ringgit from people hoping to buy PR1MA units.
He said Mutalib had said the conmen had cheated people of millions of ringgit using the PR1MA name.
"When you have a problem like this, Penang deserves to know about the PR1MA plans here so we can prevent people, especially those in the low and low-medium income groups, from being cheated.
"I will write to Shahidan again to highlight this issue... we are not blaming anyone. We also want to cooperate with the federal government so that PR1MA homes can come to Penang," he said.
The Penang government has been asking the federal government since 2012 about the PR1MA projects, following announcements by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the affordable homes would be built in the state. – The Malaysian Insider
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