BY BAVANI M.

(From left) Nurul Syafiqah Azrina Che Ros, 14, Mohd Asri Che Ros, 29, and his wife nur Aliyah Zainal Abidin, 23, having a dinner at the kitchen’s floor at midnight as the other family member sleep in the living room. There are 23 of them living in one PPR unit.

A KUALA LUMPUR City Hall (DBKL) advisory board member is calling for changes in the way DBKL assigns its low-cost housing units to poor residents.

Datuk P. Gunaseelan, who holds the housing and enforcement advisory committee portfolios, said it was high time the merit system is revamped.

Currently, a point system is used, with 100 being the highest. The higher the points, the better the chance of getting a unit. Usually, priority is given to those with 70 points and above.

He said the current system to shortlist candidates for government housing was outdated and no longer relevant.

“It is high-time DBKL’s merit system for low-cost housing units is overhauled,” he added.

Gunaseelan said DBKL should be more transparent and fair and a special committee should be set up to come up with a better system.

He plans to forward a proposal on the matter to Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib soon.

Akmal Haziq Hazman (second from left), 17, and his sister are studying in the living room where the other family member shared the space to eat and sleep. –filepic

“I have been heading the DBKL Housing Department Advisory Committee since 2012.

“I have handled about 4,000 housing applications during my sessions at the MIC service centres as well as other government agencies and have noticed that demand exceeds supply.

“The number of people seeking low-cost government housing keeps increasing.

“At just one event, as many as 2,500 people turned up with various problems, the bulk of it being housing issues,” Gunaseelan said, adding that many have been on the DBKL waiting list for decades.

Gunaseelan said he had also encountered cases of applicants earning less than RM700 a month, and these included single mothers with several children, who were given low merit points.

Currently, those applying for DBKL housing units are chosen based on several criteria such as joint household income, commitments, number of children, age, health status, and date of registration.

Applicants must also not own a property within a 35km jurisdiction radius of Kuala Lumpur.

“There are over 68,000 eligible candidates on the waiting list.

Gunaseelan, (right) helping residents of Kuala Lumpur look into their applications for PPR units.

“Even though there is a merit system in place and priority is given to single mothers, elderly and the disabled, political interference has resulted in some parties who are not high priority cases obtaining units before others who need them more.”

Gunaseelan cited a case of a single mother-of-three earning RM700 a month who was only given 42 points which he said was too low.

“Last week, I met two women who came to my service centre to apply for units. They were both blind and so I was surprised that they were only given 54 points.

“Based on this, the system needs to be revamped,” added Gunaseelan.

Gunaseelan said the disabled should be classified as a special group and their applications should be fast tracked.

They should also not have to fulfil the points criterion under the merit system.

“When I meet applicants who are paralysed and blind, I will try my best to help them obtain PPR units.

“There is no point in increasing their merit points as they might still have to wait several years for units.”

Gunaseelan, however, said in the long-term, the Government must find ways to house the poorest of the poor.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj, however, said that there was nothing wrong with City Hall’s merit system, saying that the problem was more a lack of units.

“There are simply not enough units to go around.

“It is time that the Government looks at building more affordable housing with ample infrastructure for the poor,” he said.