Penang Gerakan vice-chairman Wong Mun Hoe today slammed the Penang state government for being inefficient and in a “terribly confused state of affairs” in connection with its proposal to repaint 53 blocks of flats and apartments.
Wong said even DAP assemblymen, notably Wong Hon Wai (Air Itam) and Ng Wei Aik (Komtar) seemed not to know the subject well, especially the difference between the terms low-cost, low-medium and medium-cost apartments and flats.
“They are even further confused over the terms State-owned and State-built flats and apartments. Without fully understanding the issue, they will not be able to help solve the problems faced by the residents or to help them,” Wong said a Penang Barisan Nasional press conference outside the Penang State Assembly today. With him is Lee Boon Ten, Teoh Hang Chong and Teh Leong Meng from Gerakan, Mohd Hassan bin Din from UMNO.
Wong said for instance Hon Wai, who is Exco in charge of housing, appeared to be unaware of the present problems faced by many of these residents, who are even unable to pay for their monthly rental and maintenance fees to the state government, let alone to pay 20% for the repainting work at their flats. The state government has said it would only pay 80% for the repainting work.
Wong questioned: “Is the Penang state government saying that it will not be responsible for the repainting and repairing of low-cost flats in the state if they are built by the private sector? If this is so, then I hope the residents concerned will take serious note of this answer because the low-cost flats were built by private developers for the state government to be allocated to the people. If Penang state government does not bother or care for those in low-cost, then whose responsibility is that?”
“What is the difference between medium-cost flats that are under the state government, PDC, MPSP and MPPP versus those that are privately built? If the state government is prepared to pay for the repainting of those flats that are under the state government, they should also be prepared to do the same for other such flats, irrespective of whether they are under the state or not. Again, I would like the owners of such private flats to take note of this discriminatory measure.”
Wong said Hon Wai had asked management corporations of private low-cost flats to use their Sinking Funds to carry out repainting and repairs on these buildings and that the state government was not obliged to carry out repainting work on these flats.
Wong added: Is Hon Wai aware how much sinking funds are available for each and every one of the low-cost and low-medium cost flats, both state-owned and private? What happens if there is no more sinking fund available?”
“Is Ng Wei Aik, who is also the CM’s political secretary, aware that although M3, 4 and 5 apartments in Mahsuri, Bayan Baru, are built by PDC, that does not mean that the apartments are state-owned although they have been managed by their management committees for almost 8 years now? In other words, M3, 4 and 5 are medium-cost private apartments.”
Wong also said it was unfair of the state government to give the innocent and poor people living in low-cost and low-medium cost flats, a “false hope”.
“When the state government first announced the repainting of M3, 4 and 5 blocks in Mahsuri, Bayan Baru, the news raised the expectations of all others who are presently living in such similar high-rise. As such, there is totally nothing wrong for residents of all low-cost and low-medium flats in Penang to expect the same benefits, failing which, we can only conclude that this is a real discriminatory and unfair policy by the state government,” Wong added.
Wong reiterated that the state government should be responsible for the repainting of all low-cost and low-medium cost flats and apartments, irrespective of whether they are state-owned, state-built or private and the state government should pay for the full cost and not 80%.
source : http://www.gerakan4u.com
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