JAGDEEP Singh Deo, exco member for Housing and Town & Country Planning, has challenged Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, the Federal Territories Minister, to ask his counterparts in Penang, not just Umno, but also Gerakan, MCA and MIC, if they are agreeable to Penang becoming a Federal Territory.
“It is amusing to see that Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, the Minister of Federal Territories, still has not grasped the actual reason for suggesting that parts of certain states, including the whole of Penang, be made federal territories,” Jagdeep (pix) said at a press conference in Komtar on Feb 6.
Jagdeep was referring to a media report that one of the reasons to make Penang a federal territory was to assist its population.
“Now, it is reported that the said Minister has stated that making Penang a federal territory ‘can help make home ownership more affordable’. Clearly, this is a misconception, as the facts show that amongst all the states in Malaysia, the poorest is Sabah followed by Kelantan and Terengganu. If at all, this logic is to be applied for the creation of a federal territory, then clearly these states that are left behind economically, ought to be given priority for consideration,” he added.
“It is therefore rather surprising that Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is grasping on straws to justify his suggestion that Penang ought to be made a federal territory, the latest straw being that by making Penang a federal territory, the Malays in Penang will stand to benefit with more affordable housing,” Jagdeed said.
For the record, the said Minister should be reminded that the facts of the delivery of such affordable housing by this Pakatan government speak for themselves.
“The Minister who clearly has no facts before him should be reminded that since 2008 to 2016, some 20,887 units of affordable housing Type A and B (Low and Low Medium Cost) had in fact been physically built in Penang. This is as opposed to the dismal amount of some 5,124 units of affordable housing Type A and B (Low and Low Medium Cost) built during the similar period from 2000 to 2007 under the BN administration in Penang,” Jagdeep added.
“Despite the promulgation of the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme (PR1MA) under the PR1MA Act 2012, whereby the Federal Government has statutorily been bound to provide affordable housing to all states in Malaysia, to-date, not even one unit of such affordable housing has been built in Penang, despite numerous announcements on this since as far back as 2013.”
Tengku Adnan should be reminded that the federal government has completely failed to address the main issue of property ownership by first home buyers, which is the high bank loan rejection rate.
“This is a fact which is not denied even by his own counterparts in Penang, whereby at the recently concluded State Assembly sitting, they agreed to forward a joint motion together with the Penang state government to the Federal Government, which includes the Federal Territories Minister, to look into and overcome the issue of this high loan rejection rate for first time home buyers,” Jagdeep pointed out.
“Very clearly, it would seem that the Barisan Nasional is completely not in sync with one another at Federal and state level. Clearly the Federal Territories Minister is unaware of what his counterparts had agreed to in Penang.”
Jagdeep also allayed the lies spin by certain quarters that Malays did not get to own low-cost and low medium cost homes byh giving the following figures:
Low cost home selection:
Malays – 5,686
Chinese – 3,029
Indians – 872
Others- 36
Low Medium Cost home selection:
Malays – 2,188
Chinese – 3,498
Indians – 550
Others – 30
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who was also at the press conference added: “BN knows they will lose the election, so that’s why they do not want the election. The only way is to turn Penang into FT. This is an action full of hatred and revenge. They feel they cannot win. If rakyat is being fooled by BN and if BN wins the next elections, they will quickly turn Penang into a federal territory. Then, Penang no longer will have any elections. That’s why Jagdeep has vehemently rejected these claims.”