THE government will allocate RM2.25 billion to provide housing for the poor under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.

He said the allocation is to build and repair a total of 85,500 units of houses under the housing assistance programme.

“This will involve 75,000 units of houses in rural areas, and nearly 10,500 units of houses in urban areas.

“It will not include housing projects under the state government, the corporate sector and by civil society groups,” Ismail said in Dewan Rakyat during the 12MP speech.

Ismail said, in line with the National Housing Policy, the government is committed to ensuring the provision of adequate, quality, and affordable housing for the well-being of all Malaysian families.

He said to achieve that goal, the government had built more than 282,000 units of affordable housing during the 11th Malaysian Plan period.

“Another 500,000 units of affordable housing will be built in the 12MP for the B40 and M40 groups to own a house.”

He added that financing facilities, including the Fund for Affordable Housing, Youth Housing Scheme and Rent-to-Own programme, would be improved to ensure that the B40 and M40 groups are not burdened with instalment payments. – September 27, 2021.