A total of 100 housing units under the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) veterans housing programme is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
ATM Veterans Affairs Department (JHEV) director-general Major General Datuk Dzulkarnain Ahmad said it consisted of 28 new units and 72 refurbished units involving an allocation amounting to RM2.7 million.
He explained that one new house unit costs RM70,000 in the Peninsula, RM85,000 each in Sabah and Sarawak while the cost of a unit of refurbished home is RM14,000.
He said the criteria for new house application prescribed that applicants have yet to own a house, should own land or are living in a dilapidated house that is unsafe to occupy.
“Meanwhile, the repair assistance only involves the basic components of the house such as the roof, walls, floor and windows which do not involve the original structure of the house,” he told reporters after attending a handing over ceremony of a house key to a veteran in Kampung Mata Ayer, here today.
Dzulkarnain said the initiative aimed at helping low-income or poor ATM veterans by providing more conducive and comfortable housing according to the set requirements.
He said the housing assistance is open to ATM veterans or their widows whose household income is below the Poverty Line Income.
Dzulkarnain urged all non-pensionable ATM veterans to register or update their personal information to facilitate the distribution of assistance.
Earlier, Deputy Chief of Army Lieutenant General Datuk Mohammad Ab Rahman handed over a house key replica to a non-pensionable ATM veteran Mohd Nawawi Mustapha who suffered a stroke last year.
Mohd Nawawi, a father of six said, after more than 20 years of renting, his dream to own a house has finally come true with the help of JHEV.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
