Abandoned housing projects 'not govt fault'

26/05/2008 New Straits Times

The new owners with Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop (left) yesterday.

BUTTERWORTH: Don't blame the government for abandoned housing projects, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said yesterday.

He said most of these projects were privately managed.

Still, the government had taken measures to ease buyers' problems, such as reviving some of the projects.

"We understand their hardship of having to service a loan while paying rent.

"This is why the government is always looking for new ways to overcome problems of abandoned housing projects," he said after presenting keys to housebuyers at Taman Sejahtera Indah in Telok Air Tawar here yesterday.

The project was launched in 1996 and had been abandoned halfway until Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Finance Ministry Inc, stepped in last year.

Mohd Herman Md Ismail, 30, a freight forwarding agent, said he was happy to have finally received the keys to his single-storey house.

"I waited 12 years for this moment. I thank the government for reviving the project."

Mohd Herman was a bachelor when he booked his house worth RM96,000 in 1996. He is now a father of two.

Another buyer, Ahmad Zainal, 39, a factory worker in Prai, said he had booked a low-cost flat, costing RM25,000 in 2000.