124 units under Malaysian Family housing initiative offered to beneficiaries - KPKT

He said the remaining 1,876 residential units were still being evaluated and would be offered to those who qualify after all the applications have been screened.

"The government is very concerned and aware of the problems faced by the B40 group especially those who have lost their jobs and income as well as evicted from their homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As such, the Malaysian Family Housing Initiative was launched by the Prime Minister on Sept 24 with the main objective to provide shelter in comfortable and safe housing to people who have been affected by the pandemic," he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara sitting here, today.

Ismail was replying to a supplementary question from Senator Zaiedi Suhaili who asked if the government was helping to negotiate with the banks on behalf of borrowers who are in financial difficulties due to the pandemic.

He said the rental under the Malaysian Family Housing Initiative was as low as RM124, with rental exemption for the first six months.

Meanwhile, on the People's Housing Programme (PPR), Ismail said no quota has been set for the programme which was first implemented in 1982 under the Third Malaysia Plan (MP3) except those specifically for the B40 group.

"There are two types of PPR programmes, namely PPR homes for ownership and PPR homes for rent, those for ownership are sold to qualified applicants while those for rent are offered to people who cannot afford to own a house.

"Since its introduction, a total of 154 PPR projects have been developed to provide 97,196 housing units," he said.

At the same time, Ismail said the government was also committed to continue the Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR) Programme under Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB) which has proven to benefit those categorised under B40 and have land of their own.

To date, 47,714 RMR housing units have been completed, he said.