Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan regretted the way the Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, has addressed the deepening housing issue in the state.

He said the reason given by the state government in approving the construction of houses that needed to be made by the State Planning Committee is seen as an attempt to hinder the construction of houses, in particular affordable houses, for people.

"As the minister responsible for housing I really regret this, in other places the approval for the construction of houses is issued by the local authorities but in Penang it needs to be done by the state government.

"Too many unreasonable excuses and unwarranted answers make developers feel as if there is a wall that cannot be penetrated in Penang, this is not about politics but about houses for people," he told reporters after opening the Kepala Batas Umno Division delegates' meeting today.

Abdul Rahman said that as chief minister, Lim ( right ) should take the initiative to discuss with developers in order to resolve the issue of high house prices as well as the increasing demand for houses.

"If the state government cannot afford to build houses, we have a private company that can do it, but by giving absurd reasons and putting up unreasonable restrictions there is no room for compromise, and the problem will never be resolved," he said.

Abdul Rahman accused the DAP state government of setting strict and unreasonable conditions pertaining to applications being submitted by the federal government agencies, particularly with respect to housing projects for people.

- Bernama