The government has fallen short of its promise to provide affordable homes to the middle income group under its 1Malaysia People's Housing Scheme (PR1MA) programme, an opposition MP said today.

DAP MP Teo Nie Ching questioned how Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak can announce a proposal to build 5,000 PR1MA housing units in Teluk Intan last Saturday when a bigger BN-controlled state like Johor has only 475 PR1MA units on offer.

"While the planning, development and construction of housing projects isn’t something that can be done overnight, but the progress of PR1MA houses is rather disappointing and I wonder if the promise to build 500,000 PR1MA houses in five years can really be kept," Teo, who is the MP for Kulai, said in a press statement.

BN's proposal to build 500,000 PR1MA houses was part of its election manifesto during last year's general election.

But Teo said a recent parliamentary written reply from Minister in Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim revealed that only three projects have begun construction in the last one year.

They were located in Kuala Lumpur (2,074 units), Kedah (1,349 units) and Johor (475 units) respectively.

"It looks like Johoreans’ strong support towards BN have been taken for granted," she said.

"Will Najib build 100,000 units of PR1MA houses in Johor based on his promise in the Teluk Intan by-election to prove that BN cherishes each and every supporter?" she asked.

Launched in Seremban and Klang Valley by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in 2011, PR1MA aimed to address the lack of affordable housing options in urban areas as part of the government’s agenda to "increase the quality of life for Malaysians" and let middle income earners afford their first homes.

Each unit costs up to RM450,000 and controversy arose earlier this year when Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamalluddin pushed for 30 percent of PR1MA houses to be reserved for bumiputeras, despite it coming under Najib's 1Malaysia policy.

This led some to say that the project has been hijacked by politicians.

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