Two of K Bawani's six children did not go to school yesterday morning.

The 37-year-old housewife said they were too "lazy" to walk down the nine flights of stairs from their two-bedroom low-cost unit at the Lembah Subang People's Housing Project (PPR Lembah Subang 1) in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya.

The only one of the three elevators for the 1,000 residents at Block H of the 17-storey building, that has remained functioning, had broken down, for the third time in the past one week.

"Their bags are heavy. So they are lazy... But if I had known I would have 'whacked' them," Bawani told Malaysiakini, while resting before making the climb up back to her home.

She was also guarding her gas cylinder as the delivery man had refused to carry it up.

"Every week this (lift breakdown) will happen.

"Yesterday, one whole day, there was no water. Everything is difficult. Taking up the gas cylinder is difficult, carrying water is difficult," lamented Bawani, who has stayed in the building since 2011, 10 years after it was constructed by the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Many of the original residents were moved from squatter settlements around the Subang parliamentary seat and offered a unit at a rental rate of RM124 a month.

In 2008, the then Pakatan Rakyat federal opposition pact wrested control of Selangor for the first time, after which the ministry had, in 2012, handed over the management of PPRs to the state government.

In August last year, Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar announced that the federal government would once again take over several housing projects from the state, following purported complaints of mismanagement and lack of maintenance.

Noh at the time said that PPR Lembah Subang 1 would be the pilot project to be taken over by the federal government.

According to several residents’ association members who met with Malaysiakini, this was when the whole "confusion" over who is actually in charge of the PPR units started.

Aziz Hashim (photo), the head of the residents association for blocks A, B and C, said the confusion led to uncertainties in terms of rent payment and building maintenance, with the stalled elevators being a primary example.

While noting that Noh had visited the housing project last year, Aziz claimed that there has so far been no formal agreement stating that its management has been taken over by the federal government.

“If there was an official authorisation letter in black and white, then we residents would abide by it,” he added.

Aziz said some confused residents were then left with no choice but to pay double the rent, to the ministry and to the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).

In questioning the ministry’s authority to collect rent since Jan 1, Aziz said the method used was also burdensome, with residents having to pay for a bank draft, on top of the payment receipt being issued without any official stamp.

At the same time, he pointed out that MBPJ has continued to carry out maintenance and rubbish collection works, despite the federal government's announcement.

“Don't drag the residents into cheap politics. We hope that the ministry will not pit the residents against one another. Don’t politicise the people's problem,” Aziz stressed.

Permanent solution wanted to maintenance issue

During a visit to the site by Malaysiakini, a group of elderly women, together with their grandchildren, were sharing an early lunch of roti canai and home made lempeng (thin pancakes), with curry.

“I am lucky to be staying on the ground floor, because I run a shop here,” said one resident who only introduced herself as Makcik Aisyah.

Aisyah, who is now in her 60s, said she would not have been able to climb up and down the stairs. “I have friends living upstairs who did not come down for several months,” she said, adding that all they wanted was a permanent solution to the maintenance issue.

Mazlan Md Yunos (photo), another long-term resident, openly welcomed the takeover plans as the answer to their problems.

Having lived at the housing project since 2002, Mazlan said he was the one who headed the committee that acted as a conduit between residents and the ministry.

“One of the hot issues was an increase in rental rates from RM124 to RM250,” said Mazlan, 54, who claimed that many residents were unhappy with the state government's decision.

Malaysiakini understands that the RM250 rental rate only applies to new applications made through MBPJ and there was no increase in rent for the original residents.

Throughout the interview held on the ground floor of Block H, Mazlan, on several occasions, turned away residents from using the stalled elevator, noting that this issue happens several times a week.

“Let it not be the case when two elephants go head to head, we are stuck waiting for the lift,” he lamented, adding that there were also other unresolved issues, for example, abandoned units that had turned into breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes.

In May, Noh had reportedly approved RM16 million in allocations to build 23 new elevator units, complete with a new access card system, and targeted for completion within five to six months.

When contacted for comment, Selangor executive councillor in charge of housing, Iskandar Abdul Samad, insisted that the state government is still in charge of managing PPR Lembah Subang 1.

“We are still in charge of collecting the rent and the ministry officials should respect the state government's rights,” he said.

Iskandar also stressed that the ministry should settle payments amounting to RM60 million before the state officially hands over management of PPR Lembah Subang 1 to it.

The repayment of RM60 million to MBPJ reportedly includes expenses incurred by the Petaling Jaya City Council during its tenure, in addition to arrears in rental charges.

Malaysiakini has contacted the ministry and is awaiting its response.