By The Star
Sunday June 15, 2008
KUALA KANGSAR: With no pay slip, income tax or bank statements, single mothers and the poor are usually not eligible for loans to buy houses.
That will no longer be the case, as the Government will step in to act as “guarantor??? to provide them with such loans,
The Housing and Local Government Ministry is planning to introduce a special Rumah Mesra Rakyat (people’s housing) scheme to facilitate such purchases.
Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said the Government had already set aside RM50mil to start the ball rolling, with Bank Islam and Bank Simpanan Nasional to disburse loans.
He said 40,000 houses would be built initially under the scheme, adding that applicants would likely be eligible for homes priced between RM80,000 and RM100,000.
The buyers need to pay only RM124 monthly, he told newsmen after attending a jamboree of Fire and Rescue cadets yesterday.
Ong, who is also the MCA secretary-general, said the plan was among various measures to tackle urban poverty.
He said the Government would allocate another RM50mil to provide further assistance to such families, which include paying the RM124 monthly rental, a RM200 allowance for children from poor families and an allowance for single mothers.
On the Fire and Rescue Department, he said it had created various wings to meet current challenges and needed skilled and knowledgeable personnel.
“The department has a forensic unit, canine unit, emergency medical unit and an air wing,??? he said, adding that the ministry plans to offer scholarships for degree courses in fields such as forensic science.
The minister said the department was no longer confined to just fighting fires.