The Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) has expressed disappointment with the DAP-led Penang government for refusing to cooperate in the effort to provide affordable and low-cost housing to the people in the state.

Its chairperson, Shabudin Yahaya, said Perda was willing to negotiate with the state government, which was alleged to have refused to approve their housing development proposals.

He said of the four proposals submitted for approval, the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP), had rejected one in Kepala Batas on the grounds that it did not meet the stipulated requirements , while three other proposed projects in Ara Kuda, Tasek Gelugor, had yet to get a reply.

"Recently, MPSP rejected our proposal for a project in Pongsu Seribu, Kepala Batas, as they claimed that the houses in the project exceeded the fixed price of RM250,000," he told reporters at Perda's Hari Raya open house today.  

Actually, he said only 15 percent of the units to be developed on the 121-hectare site in Kepala Batas were to be sold at more than RM250,000 while other units would be sold below the price set by the state.

"We had to fix the price for 15 percent of the houses at over RM250,000 for 'cross-subsidy' purposes because the cost of building an affordable house is more than RM80,000 per unit but the sale price is only RM40,000, far below the market price.

"The state government is not only making it difficult for us to develop affordable housing but also making it hard for the people to own a house," he said, adding that Perda had always provided affordable low-cost housing, priced between RM42,000 to RM300,000, to meet the demand of the people.

- Bernama