Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has laid the blame on the Public Services Department (PSD) for delaying the state’s effort to provide housing for the poor.

Lim said the PSD has yet to approve the setting up of the proposed Housing Board, although the Penang state legislative assembly had endorsed it last year.

Due to the PSD’s delay on the matter, the Penang government is unable to act on it, but it still prefers an amicable solution, he said.

The state was still in discussions with the PSD and hoped that further meetings would eventually brought about the approval from the federal department.

“We find our efforts to provide affordable and quality housing for the poor hampered because of PSD’s failure to approve the board,” said Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general.

“We don’t want a confrontation, we prefer a collaborative approach because housing, like education, is too important an issue to be politicised,” he told a press conference in George Town.

wong hon wai ala wang han wei In February, Penang Town and Country Planning, Housing and Arts Committee chairperson Wong Hon Wai ( right ) announced that the state Housing Board, which will promote affordable housing projects by the private sector, will be set up on July 1.

Wong said the enactment to set up the board was passed at the state assembly in November last year.

Under the enactment, the board is a statutory body and can handle housing issues in a more effective manner, Wong said.

The board would look into eradicating corruption and reducing red tape in the housing sector while curbing excessive profits, he added.

Meanwhile, Lim said although the state is “unhappy” that it cannot yet establish a housing board despite being endorsed by the Penang legislative assembly, he will continue pressing the PSD on it.

‘Why can other states do it?’

He conceded that it was not legally possible to move ahead with the plan and the state government does not wish to act on its own.

“We are all part of one country, why can other states do it, like Sabah and Sarawak, but not us,” Lim lamented.

“You do not see us attacking anyone yet, because we want an amicable solution,” he added.

Lim said that the state has expressed its unhappiness in the recent state assembly sitting that its effort to provide affordable and quality housing for poor was not allowed to proceed.

However, he stressed that Penang was still determined to build such homes so that Penangites are able to live in dignity.

He reminded the public that Penang has also set up a RM500 million affordable and quality home fund for the entire state, to deal with the issue of housing for the poor.

“This is the largest fund being set up by any state government,” he said.