SHAH ALAM, 28 Nov: The issue of abandoned housing and strata housing problems are important issues that require cooperation between the state government and the central government to be solved.
The Executive Councillor in charge of Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlement, Iskandar Abdul Samad (PAS-Chempaka), said that he has already sent three letters to the Minister of Housing and Local Government to make the desire a reality since Pakatan Rakyat (PR) took over the administration of Selangor in 2008.
He said that the desire has still not become a reality because no response regarding the proposal to cooperate for the interests of the people.
“I actually welcome discussions and cooperation from the central government and the state. That is why I have sent two separate letters to the Minister of Housing. But the problem is, there has been no reply to the letters since the first term PR took over the administration of Selangor.
“It is now a new term and the minister under the ministry is also new. I have expressed my desires through representatives who always hold meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.
“So, I urge the new minister to hold a meeting between the Exco and the minister so that discussions and cooperation can be carried out more comprehensively,” he said when met by Selangor Kini at the Selangor State Assembly (DNS) lobby yesterday.
Iskandar said that among the issues that are a problem to the people is the abandoned housing projects which the central government should take responsibility for.
“Abandoned housing projects are the responsibility of the central government. However, the state government has also put in effort to solve this problem; such as completing the abandoned housing project in Bukit Botak.
“More importantly, we should cooperate and contribute to one another to solve this problem instead of using separate strategies,” he said.
Iskandar said that he believes that Selangor’s experience as a state that has many strata development projects can provide effective ideas to overcome this issue.
Previously, the people who were residing in strata housing, or better known as tiered housing such as apartments, condominiums and shop-houses, often face various problems such as maintenance cost, difficulty of obtaining grants and building damage.