FOR the last 10 years, Penang regarded itself the “stepchild” of the Barisan Nasional federal government, sidelined in development due to political differences.

Today, Penang Local Government and Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo has high hopes that the first Pakatan Harapan budget will have good news for the northern state.

“We had been sidelined all this while. We now ask to be given priority in Budget 2019,” he said in his Komtar office this morning.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, who will table Budget 2019 tomorrow afternoon at the Dewan Rakyat, was Penang chief minister from 2008 until the May 9 general election, that saw BN removed from power.

Federal affordable housing

On Jagdeep’s Budget 2019 wish list are several requests he had  made to the federal government but never received.

Penang, he said, needs more affordable housing units, something previous BN governments had failed to build in the state, despite initiating the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme (PR1MA) and 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing Programme (PPA1M).

On its own, and with the partnership of private developers, Penang built 28,195 low-cost, low-medium-cost and affordable homes since 2008.

Another 22,065 are being built, and 32,212 more are in the pipeline.

“It is hoped that Penang will be given priority in Budget 2019, where the allocation for such affordable homes under federal programmes are concerned,” Jagdeep said.

He also hopes Penang will be given priority for people’s housing projects (PPR) – government housing for the poor – since the state has the least number PPR units in the country.

He said the state has identified 25.27ha of land on 10 lots for PPR projects, as requested by the present Housing Ministry.

For now, Penang only has 999 PPR units out of the 110,000 nationwide.

Maintenance for housing schemes

Jagdeep also hopes the federal government will approve pending applications for Penang housing schemes for maintenance under the 1Malaysia Maintenance Fund (TP1M), another initiative by the former BN administration.

“Penang was clearly sidelined here as well, as only 28 out of 143 applications were approved. There are 115 applications at a cost of RM66.4 million yet to be approved.

“For three years in a row, not a single one was approved. We hope Penang will also be given priority in this matter,” he said, adding that without the approvals, some low-cost housing projects could not be properly maintained.

Incentives for smart, low-carbon states

Jagdeep also said all states that implement smart city solutions and low-carbon initiatives should be given some financial assistance or incentives through other means.

He said smart city solutions can save costs and enhance the efficiency of government services to the public.

“In Penang, we are replacing all street lights to LED lights, which will hopefully cut the power bill by 60%. The federal government contributes 50% of the electricity bill for street lighting.”

Jagdeep also hopes Putrajaya will approve Penang’s application to upgrade the Seberang Prai Municipal Council to a city council.

“These are requests we have made for years. In a new Malaysia, we hope Penangites will receive good news tomorrow.” – November 1, 2018.