IN KOTA MARUDU 1,495 HARDCORE POOR HOUSEHOLDS WERE ELIGIBLE FOR HOUSING AID UNDER THE "E-KASIH" PROGRAMME BUT, ANNUALLY, ALLOCATION WAS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SOME 60. "THEREFORE, IT WOULD TAKE AT LEAST 20 YEARS TO MEET THE HOUSING NEEDS OF THE POOR HERE,"

Ongkili Proposes Additional Housing Schemes For Sabah To Achieve NKRA Targets

KOTA MARUDU (Sabah), Jan 15 (Bernama) -- Kota Marudu Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili has proposed that the Sabah government implement housing schemes in addition to the federal government's housing assistance programme (PBR) for the targets under the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) for the poor to be achieved.

Ongkili, who is Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, 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.

He said Sarawak, for example, had additional schemes for the poor besides the federal assistance, such as the longhouse loan scheme where each longhouse household could apply for a RM10,000 loan to repair their homes.

He said that in Kota Marudu 1,495 hardcore poor households were eligible for housing aid under the "e-kasih" programme but, annually, allocation was only available for some 60.

"Therefore, it would take at least 20 years to meet the housing needs of the poor here," he said, adding that under this circumstance it would also be impossible to reach the target to eradicate hardcore poor in the country in the shortest period.

Ongkili 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. The second is the PBR model of free housing for the hardcore poor being provided by the federal Rural and Regional Development Ministry, and the third is 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 during a visit to the Marimbau Darat and Rita longhouses in Matunggong, near here.

Elaborating on the seriousness of the problem in the rural areas, Dr Ongkili said that in the Matunggong area, which is a state seat under his constituency, some 70 per cent of the 30 longhouses there were dilapidated and in need of major repair, with some unsafe to live in.

"The longhouses were built during the time of the Berjaya government. Repairs to one longhouse under federal assistance have been completed while tenders for three longhouses will be awarded soon and three others were in the process of approval.

"We have been providing assistance to longhouses in the constituency, including Marimbau Darat, for repairs in the form of zinc and plywood, but these are insufficient, especially for longhouses that have aged and require major repairs," he said.