KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that a city's greatness is measured by its government's ability to serve and safeguard the interests of all its residents, irrespective of their socioeconomic status.
"You cannot build a city that separates its people... I used to know individuals who took pride in Kuala Lumpur, as it has Twin Towers (Petronas Twin Towers).
"But, what about tens of thousands (of people) without homes, living in crowded areas...how about buildings such as this (Seri Perlis building) which was constructed 50 years ago, with one room, one toilet and six children. We can't ignore these issues; these are the things we have to look into," he said when officiating the groundbreaking ceremony for the Residensi Suria Madani in Taman Desa here on Thursday.
Also present were the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, and Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government will not pay attention to the opposition of the elite against the construction of affordable houses.
He said the people need to unite by adopting the spirit of Merdeka, so that low-income groups are not marginalised.
"Every time there is a people housing project, there will be objections. My friends text (message) that we have to take care of cleanliness, give comfort to friends who have high incomes, (but) then ... this is a cheap land site. Where do these poor people want to reside?
"(Many) good areas are already inhabited by the rich, so I want the people to unite behind the spirit of Merdeka. Let's not be marginalised in this one," he said.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, and Chief Secretary Datuk Seri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar were also present.
In the meantime, Anwar also instructed the Federal Territories Department and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to speed up all Madani housing block matters for every new project in the capital, to ensure that low-income groups have homes as soon as possible.
He said that this is because some of those who are B40 and M40 have waited up to 10- to 20 years to own an affordable dream home.
"If you delay the approval, the cost of the house will be higher... corruption, bank costs all end up burdening the buyer; if this is the case, the country will not progress, as the people are not protected.
"... Thank God, all the signs are good for Malaysia — good (economic) growth has started, good investment, low inflation, the work quantity and salaries of civil servants have also increased," he said.
A total of 800 Residensi Madani units will be built by Mah Sing Group Bhd on a 0.99 hectare land, involving the construction of two blocks with an area of 800 square feet per unit, which will be sold at a price of RM200,000.