No plans to amend law to control allocation of houses

10/04/2001 The Star

THE Housing and Local Government Ministry has no intention to draft a new law or amend the current legislation to regulate the allocation of low-cost housing.

Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the state governments were in charge of renting out or allocating low-cost units to whoever was eligible.

On Sunday, Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk M. Kayveas told reporters in Malacca the ministry had suggested that the law be amended to prevent housebuyers from owning more than one low-cost house.

Ong said that the standardisation of the computer registration of property in all states would help the ministry detect housebuyers who applied for low-cost houses in more than one state.

He added that the names of the buyers' spouses and children would also be entered into the computer system to prevent them from using their family members to apply for additional low-cost units.

At the moment, Ong said the Perak, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu Governments were using a system similar to the ministry's, while other states had their own system.

"The ministry is trying to standardise the registration process for more transparency.

"This can also stop any form of abuse,'' he said.

On the low-cost housing project in Kampung Medan, he said that the developers who stopped work four years ago had agreed to resume construction by July this year.

Asked why the developer had stopped work on the 800 units, Ong said it was due to financial constraints