Despite government land being used for lavish projects such as the prestigious Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) financial district, the housing needs of the low-income rakyat are still in the government’s mind, assured a deputy minister.

NONE “You don’t have to worry. The housing needs of low-income rakyat are still given due consideration,” Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department SK Devamany ( left ) told the Dewan Rakyat during Question Time today.

In the immediate months, he revealed that the government has committed to build 50,000 low cost residential units priced below RM300,000 each, especially in the Klang Valley, to address the need for affordable housing.

He was replying a query from Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor) on the matter.

In a supplementary question, Dzulkefly, however, contested that such low-income areas may just turn into urban ghettos, low-income silos amongst the grand highrises of TRX, which he claimed is contributing to the "overbuild" glut of the Klang Valley luxury commercial property market.

"It is just a real estate development," accused the PAS MP further, referring to the TRX as being of no use to Malaysia other than just being another land development scheme in an already saturated market.

NONE Devamany, however, refuted Dzukefly's ( right ) claims, pointing out that as Malaysia goes on to become a world leader in Islamic finance, TRX has a foremost role to play in taking the country to greater heights in the Islamic finance sector, which is worth billions of Ringgit each year to the economy.

"We bring the poor up. Everyone will be rich," replied the deputy minister, adding that we cannot continue to be "feudalised" by the rich in the financial sector.

Malaysia, he said, must take up the challenge by building such infrastructures to ride the crest of the global Islamic finance wave and not lose out.