Bank Islam Malaysia and Bank Simpanan Nasional have been given an allocation of RM50mil to provide loans to house buyers from the low-income group to buy low-cost houses, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Ong Ka Chuan said.
He added these buyers, who didn't have adequate qualifications to ask for ordinary housing loans, could submit their applications to the two banks to buy their houses.
Ong told Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) the Government was aware of the difficulties faced by the lower income group in buying low-cost houses.
Their problems could be solved by applying for the RM50mil loan facilities offered by the two banks, he added.
Ong also said that as of March 31, a total of 30,072 squatters have been moved to people's housing projects (projek perumahan rakyat) implemented by the ministry.
"The squatters are required to pay only RM124 in monthly rental.
"There is no risk of their houses being seized or auctioned due to non-payment of rental because they are only renting from the Government," he added.
Ong told Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique (BN-Tenggara) that among the problems faced by the ministry in helping to overcome the squatter problem was the lack of census data on the number of squatters.
"We also need to study the right locations to build low-cost housing for them.
"Many of the squatters also want to stay near their workplaces," he added.
- The Star -