Government to continue providing affordable housing, says Najib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has again assured the people the government will continue to provide affordable and quality homes. He said this was not just to ensure they had shelter but also to increase their wealth. This was in keeping Barisan Nasional's 13th General Election Manifesto where BN had promised to build one million homes within five years nationwide, he added. Najib said this when launching the PR1MA HOMES @Sarawak EXPO at the old State Legislative Assembly building today. Present were Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, state housing minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg and PR1MA chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Mutalib Alias. "We have managed to deliver 500,000 homes through PR1MA. We will do our best to deliver the rest to fulfil our promise," the prime minister added. As for Sarawak, he said PR1MA and the state housing development corporation were working hand-in-hand to build some 9,185 units of different types of homes. "There is the need for a very strong relationship between the state and federal government to facilitate this programme. "In Sarawak for instance, the state government provides the land while the federal government comes up with the fund. "Nowadays, the people are no longer contented with cheap houses but want good quality and spacious homes with the relevant modern trappings but at a price they can afford. "While it is a difficult challenge to come up with the right deal, we have (nevertheless) managed to a certain extent, to achieve this through PR1MA where its home price is 20% lower than the market price, and this certainly, benefits the people," he said. – Bernama, March 12, 2016.]]>