Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Low-cost units purchased by senior MBPJ officers a matter of concern


LOW-cost flat units are supposed to be reserved for low-income earners, and primarily to provide housing for squatter residents who are displaced by the development of the land they one occupied.

To ensure that only the poor are allowed to purchase these low-cost units, the Selangor government has set the following rules:

the purchaser must be a Selangor resident;
the purchaser must not have a base salary higher than RM2,500; and
the purchaser and his or her spouse must not already own a house.

Despite these rules, I have found several senior-ranking MBPJ officers listed as owners of low-cost units that were purchased in 2006 directly from the developer.

These officers have a base salary higher than RM2,500 at the time of purchase. I believe that these officers and their spouses own their own houses as well.

I had on 15 Jan 2010 requested MBPJ mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman to conduct an inquiry within 21 days. However, the inquiry was not conducted, and no formal reply was given as to why there might be a delay.

It is therefore with much regret that I am forced to issue this statement and expose these facts.

The purchase of these low-cost units by MBPJ officers is of grave concern to me as a councillor, as these officers are working in departments that are directly linked to the approval process of development projects.

I have submitted a formal request to the Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) to conduct a public inquiry.

I am withholding the names of these officers for now as I do not wish to prejudice the inquiry process.

KW Mak
MBPJ local councillor

24 Feb 2010

news courtesy of Nut Graph

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