Stop being two-faced

Penang Barisan Nasional has described the Pakatan Rakyat state government as hypocritical and unfair in the issue of affordable housing.

Opposition Leader Datuk Jahara Hamid (BN-Teluk Air Tawar) claimed that the state had acquired land at a low price but sold units at a high price.

She identified three PDC projects - Intan Delima and Teratai Idaman projects in Bandar Cassia and D’ Residence in Bayan Mutiara - as examples.

“The Intan Delima project comprised 180 medium-cost units which were priced from RM159,800 to RM306,360. The ceiling price for affordable housing in Seberang Prai is RM250,000.

“For the Teratai Idaman project, the 70 medium-cost houses were sold at between RM242,927 and RM390,000.”

She said the worst case was D’ Residence in Bayan Mutiara, where 168 units of three-storey semi-detached houses and bungalows were sold for between RM880,000 and RM3mil.

“If they want Perda and JKP Sdn Bhd to build 100% low-cost and low medium-cost units and sell the units at a specific price, why are they not doing the same thing?

“They are just practising double standards and trying to find excuses for not approving projects by Federal agencies,” she told a press conference yesterday.

Jahara also questioned if a developer had received special treatment from the state government as it had not made land payments according to schedule.

“According to the Sales and Purchase Agreement for land sale in Bayan Mutiara, the company is supposed to pay RM667.43mil to the state government.

“But, based on the answer given by state Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo (DAP-Datuk Keramat), the state government has only received RM227.48mil from the company, which means that there is a shortfall of RM439.95mil.

“The state government needs to explain to the rakyat why the developer is being given this special privilege for not making payments according to the schedule,” she said, adding that in cases of default payments, the agreement could be terminated.

Barisan Nasional representatives had earlier questioned why the Bayan Mutiara land was sold at a cheaper price, claiming the state government and the rakyat had lost about RM800mil in the deal. - By The Star

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