Kota Kinabalu: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Deputy Treasurer-General Vincent KM Chin said building more housing projects is a better approach than issuing eviction orders to tenants of LPPB houses at Taman Puri Warisan in Inanam, Taman Jaya Diri Sepangar and Taman Bukit Setia Kuala Menggatal.
According to Vincent, the reported issuance of eviction notices by LPPB, which was highlighted in social media, had garnered widespread attention and eliciting various reactions from netizens recently.
The said issue has sparked controversy and discussions on the affordability of housing for low-income families in Sabah, he said. LPPB said among the reasons of the eviction notice is to provide an opportunity to other applicants who are waiting for a chance to rent PPR houses.
“LPPB must fulfil its own responsibility by building more affordable housing for the people before the agency started implementing all these policies against the tenants,” Vincent reiterated.
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Vincent believes that LPPB owes the people an explanation whether it has failed to achieve its objective to build enough affordable houses for the people since its inception.
“Common sense tells us that no one is willing to rent for their whole life. This is especially true for folks renting houses in Kota Kinabalu.”
Vincent said people are more interested to know how many more low and medium-cost housing is LPPB going to build for them in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
“Is LPPB going to achieve their target and assist B40 and M40 groups to own their ‘Malaysian Dream? How and by what approach is LPPB going to achieve this target?
He suggested that LPPB publish in newspapers the number of houses they have built for the people at least once a year.
Vincent also supported the move of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor for not supporting the drastic move taken by LPPB in the issue of the issuance of eviction notices.
Instead, Hajiji wants to defer the implementation of immediate eviction and bring the case for discussion in the Cabinet meeting.
“Should the eviction process be carried out, it must be done in a humane manner, because many of those affected are from the B40 group and they will continue to struggle financially,”
Vincent also pointed out that the best way to solve the problem of eviction is to ensure that adequate measures are in place to assist tenants who are facing financial difficulties.
This includes providing financial assistance such as rental subsidies or extensions to payment deadlines.
In addition, he said, LPPB should work with community organisations and other stakeholders to identify alternative housing options.
He said it is crucial to prioritise the well-being of tenants and to ensure that they are not left without a place to live.
Ultimately, he said, a collaborative approach that involves all relevant stakeholders is needed to address the complex issue of eviction and housing insecurity.
“LPPB should consider replacing the lifetime rental policy used in all PPRs in the State with rent-to-own system, as there are many people who still do not own their own houses, and some have been renting houses for their whole life.
“LPPB should ensure ordinary people, especially the low income earners, are able to live comfortably and own a house.
This should be the main performance indicator (KPI) of LPPB…Above all else, LPPB should also ensure that the process to implement the programme can be accelerated so that tenants do not have to wait too long.”
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