Folk may value their flats more by chipping in 20%

As reported in The Star 4 April 2011

Exco man: Folk may value their flats more by chipping in 20%

THE Penang Government is not footing 100% of the cost to repaint state housing projects as it wanted their residents to have a sense of commitment to maintain the flats, said state executive councillor Wong Hon Wai.

He said all 45 state housing projects were offered a scheme whereby the state government pays 80% of the cost of repainting the buildings while the residents come up with the remaining 20%.

“We want the residents have a sense of commitment to maintaining the flats as best they can,” Wong said after attending a World Water Day celebration at the Relau Metropolitan Park yesterday.

He was commenting on a statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Saturday which rapped Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for asking residents of the Rifle Range and Kampung Melayu flats to pay 20% of the total cost of repainting the flats.

Najib had said that the Federal Government would not ask for any payment from the people since it did not believe in burdening them.

He, however, said he would leave the repainting job to the state but added that the Federal Government would provide an allocation to improve the water pressure at the two high-rise schemes.

Wong, who is state Town and Country Planning, Housing and Arts Committee chairman, said the state government welcomed the offer to improve the water pressure and would also appreciate any allocation from the Federal Government to foot the residents’ share of the repainting cost.