Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) is unable to proceed with plans to build thousands of People’s Housing Programme (PPR) units in Sepanggar due to unresolved squatter issues on the allocated 70-acre site.
Immediate Past President Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping said under the agreement with the State Government last year, Shareda is supposed to provide basic housing for B40 people in the State.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});However, the site is occupied by thousands of squatters who need to be evicted first.
He said only political can solve the problem for the B40.
“We still want to do this project. But the huge presence of squatters is the biggest problem in some of the areas.
“The site is occupied by squatters where some are locals but mostly illegals. Shareda cannot evict them. Support from DBKK, civil authorities and the state government is needed to move out the squatters.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“Eviction isn’t something the private sector can carry out. It must be a coordinated, humane process and have to find alternative accommodation, which is beyond us (Shareda),” he said.
Chua said this at a press conference after Shareda’s 32nd annual meeting which saw the election of new President Datuk Johnny Wong Chen Yee, Saturday.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});He was commenting on the status of the project to build affordable housing including PPR units in Sabah to complement noble efforts of national government to build 500,000 PPR units of houses for B40 people in the country by year 2025.
Chua said a government task force meant to address the situation but had yet to be formed.
“The Chief Minister and the State Secretary (SKN) have to initiate it.
“The site is State land currently under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry and must be rezoned to be used for building affordable housing before building the PPR units can begin,” he said.
Despite these setbacks, Chua reaffirmed Shareda’s commitment to seeing the project through.
“We are eager to start, but political will is essential. We’re working behind the scenes to assist where we can,” he said.
Chua also disclosed a recent federal government decision to raise the ceiling price for affordable homes (PPR units) from RM300,000 to RM380,000.
“It’s due to escalating building material costs. The unit size remains at 850 square feet, but construction feasibility required the price revision.
“It’s not just in Sabah, its whole Malaysia,” he said, adding that the new limit applies to urban (bandar) areas with definitions still pending clarification.
Chua said squatter issues are not confined to Sepanggar.
“Even in Tuaran and foreshore reserves, squatter settlements have become a recurring problem. They often return after eviction
“While some of the squatters are local, the majority are not, which adds to the complexity. This is a bottleneck problem that cannot be solved overnight,” he said.