YOUNG couples struggling to make a living in the city have been advised to be more creative and pro-active in sustaining their livelihood.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) Housing Management and Community Development director Wan Mohammad Ghazali Nor said it was getting more challenging to live and work in Kuala Lumpur, especially for young married couples who are starting a new family.

“But they need to change their mindset about waiting for government housing and become more independent instead of depending on handouts,” he said.

“They have to plan to succeed,” he added.

Wan Ghazali was commenting on the lack of affordable housing for low-wage earners and the long waiting list for government housing units.

It was reported that there are about 168,000 applicants who have registered for government housing, of which 68,000 are eligible for the units. But most applicants are on the waiting list; with some on the list for decades.

“People don’t realise that the primary purpose for government housing was to relocate squatters in the city into People’s Housing Schemes (PPRs),” Wan Ghazali said.

He added that the Government was helping young married couples get “transit homes” through its 1Malaysia Transit Home project, which consists of two blocks of 632 units in the PPR in Bukit Jalil.

The project is for young couples below 30 who are working in the Klang Valley and have a combined household income of less than RM3,000.

It allows the couples to stay in the 650sq ft units — with three rooms and two bathrooms — for a maximum of two years while paying only RM250 in rent each month.

“This is just to get them started, and is in no way a permanent arrangement. We give them a place to live while paying very low rent for two years until they manage to find a permanent home and are more financially stable,” he said.

Meanwhile, 12 families received units from DBKL after being on the waiting list for several years.

The families were presented their papers informing them of the good news by Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Loga Bala Mohan at City Hall Menara 1 in Jalan Raja Laut.

Amongst those that received units were Siti Aishah, 30, who is the daughter of Zubaidah Ahmad, 55 and Che Ros Naim, 68. Siti Aishah, and her husband and two young children, aged six and two, were on the DBKL waiting list for a PPR for several years.

They have been living in Zubaidah’s PPR unit with 19 other family members, their spouses and children.

The young mother was beaming with joy when she received the good news from Wan Ghazali recently.

“I am grateful for the unit. It has been difficult finding a house that is affordable in Kuala Lumpur,” Siti Aishah said.

She was offered a unit in PPR Batu Muda in Sentul which is only a stone’s throw away from her mother’s house in PPR Seri Perak.

Siti Aishah’s brothers and sisters are still waiting for DBKL units. Wan Ghazali advised the siblings to find alternative accommodation elsewhere and share the expenses jointly.

“They cannot just say that they earn too little and have to rely on the Government to give them houses. The situation today is very different from 30 years ago. The waiting list is so long and we don’t have enough units to cater to everyone,” he said.

“Siti Aishah’s siblings can find a house in the city and share the cost of rent instead of expecting DBKL to give them units,” he said.

On June 1, StarMetro had highlighted the 23 family members who were living in a 44.59sq m, two-bedroom flat in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

The family had been forced to live together in cramped quarters due to the high cost of living and the lack of affordable housing to rent.

Meanwhile, after almost 10 years on the government housing waiting list, Kunalan Thanapal, 43, and Murugan Elumalai, 45, also received units in PPR Kg Muhibbah in Puchong. Both families earn less than RM2000 a month and have been struggling to make ends meet.