PDC to handle housing fund

THE state government’s fund for affordable housing will be managed and implemented by the Penang Development Corpo- ration (PDC).

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the PDC would ensure that the RM500mil was used to build affordable units for the lower income group in the state.

“This is the largest amount ever allocated by any state government in the country for this purpose.

“It was decided during the state exco meeting today that the fund would be handled by the PDC, which is part of the state government,” he said.

Lim, who is PDC chairman, said the fund was from the Bayan Mu-tiara privatisation project conducted via an open tender.

He added that the state government had rejected the previous administration’s plan to move the administration centre from Komtar to Bayan Mutiara when it took over in 2008.

“Building a new administrative centre would have caused between RM600mil and RM800mil.

“We wanted to use the money for social projects that can benefit the people — like affordable housing,” he said during the PDC Chinese New Year open house in George Town yesterday.

Lim said a total of 11,596 affor-dable homes costing between RM42,000 and RM72,500 had so far been approved by the state government.

After the event, some 20 state Pemuda Pakatan Rakyat members presented Lim with an invitation to a debate.

An official invitation was also sent to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop’s service centre in Tasek Gelugor.

Organised by the group, the debate titled ‘Abolishing expressway toll would bankrupt the country’ is scheduled for Feb 29 at the Seberang Prai Municipal Council hall in Sungai Dua, Tasek Gelugor.

State DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) secretary Ng Wei Aik, who is also Komtar assemblyman and the chief minister’s political secretary, said Lim would accept the invitation.

“Pemuda is organising this debate between the two leaders so that the rakyat can hear for themselves the arguments for and against the abolishing of expressway toll fares for concessionaires that have made huge profits.

“We have given Nor Mohamed a week to respond to the challenge and hope that he will accept it,” he said. - The Star