KUALA LUMPUR: The government will build a total of 10,200 units of Rumah Keluarga Malaysia Angkatan Tentera (RKMAT) homes and police quarters across the country under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said of the total, 8,852 of the RKMAT homes would be allocated to military personnel.

"Right now, 1,509 of the RKMAT homes are under construction, while 7,343 others are in the procurement management process," he said when launching the RKMAT here today.

Ismail Sabri said the launch of 2,000 units of RKMAT homes today had also fulfilled 85 per cent of the needs of the military personnel in the Klang Valley.

Ismail Sabri the 2,000 units, each measuring 850 sq ft, fully furnished and has three bedrooms, were allocated for Army personnel of various ranks.

He said the entire project area was also equipped with social and recreational facilities, a multipurpose hall, a gymnasium, surau and shop lots.

Present at the launch were Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Chief of Defence Force General Tan Sri Affendi Buang and Army chief General Tan Sri Datuk Zamrose Mohd Zain.

At a press conference later, the Prime Minister elaborated that 2,000 Army families will be able to move into their respective units by end of next month.

"The houses were built by the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) through its subsidiary Perbadanan Perwira Harta Malaysia. The Defence Ministry bought the entire project because this is a new concept that we want to introduce, to buy instead of build," he said.


The Prime Minister said the new concept was to ensure that the objective of the programme to provide comfortable houses to military personnel will be achieved.

"We used to adopt the concept of building the houses. Once completed, our personnel can move in, but with quite a number of projects being delayed or even abandoned, our military personnel cannot move into their new houses," he said.

He added that the Army personnel who move into their new RKMAT homes can enjoy the accommodation until their retirement from the service.

The RKMAT project located in Bukit Jalil comprised four blocks of 38-storey apartments.

Meanwhile, several Army personnel expressed their happiness and gratitude for the accommodation.

Corporal R. Salvam said with the available facilities and strategic location, it was indeed suitable and convenient for his small family.

"I'm very satisfied. It's fully furnished and complete with electrical appliances. It really makes it easier for the military personnel who had just been deployed here or may be deployed elsewhere one day," he said.

His sentiment was shared by Corporal Christina Clinie Anak Bonsu, who will be staying there with her husband and their one-year-old baby.

"This is a blessing for me. We didn't just get a house, it has a fridge, an oven, everything," she said.

-- BERNAMA