Govt defends consultation of Singapore housing experts

Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming today defended the move to consult experts from Singapore in the matter of Malaysia's public housing sector, citing issues related to quality, among others. 

He said the main problem in the country's construction of public housing was not a lack of units but rather the quality of the construction itself. 

He also said that public housing developers overlook aspects such as sustainability and community well-being. 

Nga said the government would examine and study these aspects through the inclusion of Singapore's Housing and Development Board (HDB) in a move which he added began in 2018 under the previous administration. 

He gave the example of a study visit by a ministry delegation to the public housing project in Desa Park City, Kuala Lumpur, which he described as a good model of facilities offered at an affordable price. 

"This is the model that we will build on, including positive features from Singapore. 

"It has commercial characteristics so that our public housing will have 'liveability', 'connectivity' and also 'sustainability'. These are among the features that we should learn together, for the good of the people and the country," he said, responding to a question by Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir (PN-Setiu) in the Dewan Rakyat. 

Nga said that Malaysia, through his ministry, had established similar collaborations with other countries like Australia in terms of the development of private housing and residential rental acts, and India in terms of private mixed developments. 

He said HDB had been involved since 2018 through a visit by the former housing and local government minister and a delegation to the city-state to understand the planning and provisions of housing, particularly social housing.