By Sheeda Fathil
KLANG, June 16 — The Selangor government has spent RM123.7 million from 2011 to refurbish 357 low- and medium-cost apartments through the State Welfare Refurbishment Scheme (Skim Ceria).
State executive councillor for housing Rodziah Ismail said that the figure includes this year’s allocation of RM7 million to implement the programme in selected locations, in which the application can be made online.
“Compared to other states, Selangor is the only state to have formulated a consistent assistance scheme to refurbish low-cost apartments with an efficient application system,” she said when met after the launch of the Symbolic Handover Ceremony of the Skim Ceria project at Pangsapuri Bukit Tinggi 1, here today.
Rodziah also called for the Joint Management Bodies (JMBs) to sign up for the initiative to give the high-rise buildings a new lease of life.
She said many of the applications involve the repair of collapsed roofs, faulty lifts, water tanks, and paint works, including complaints of garbage disposal from the upper floors of the apartments.
“To ensure that complaints are resolved efficiently, we encourage JMBs to apply through e-Ceria and the relevant parties will resolve the issues in stages,” she said.
The scheme was established to repair shared property damages in low- and medium-cost apartments in Selangor, with the condition that the JMBs must be registered and have good financial standing.
Meanwhile, Rodziah said under the scheme, the state government has allocated RM1.81 million to refurbish six blocks of Pangsapuri Bukit Tinggi 1.
She said that the restoration work has been done in stages since 2021 as the current allocation had also taken into account other areas that also applied for the scheme.
“This area is among the apartments that I visited on May 3, 2021, having been given the duty of serving as the state executive councillor for housing and urban wellbeing.
“At that time, I observed the poor condition of the apartment roofs, which posed a safety risk to the residents, particularly those who reside on the upper floors.
“I then requested the Selangor Housing and Property Board to provide renovation assistance through Skim Ceria so that residents could live in a comfortable and secure environment,” she said.
Rodziah explained restoration work for three more blocks is anticipated to begin in August as the hiring of contractors is in progress.
“I’m hoping that with the help of Skim Ceria, the residents of these apartments will be motivated and inspired to quickly form a management body.
“To ensure better organisation, the establishment of a management body can also educate unit owners to commit to jointly manage and maintain Pangsapuri Bukit Tinggi 1,” she said.
Separately, Rodziah said 98 of 181 housing projects in Selangor which were abandoned since 2007 due to various factors, including failure to meet standards and drainage system problems, have been rescued by the state government.
She said this is largely thanks to the formation of the Recovery of Abandoned Projects Subcommittee at the local authority level, which ensures that such issues are constantly monitored and resolved.
Moving forward, Rodziah said it is pertinent that a specific policy be drawn up to ensure the issue of abandoned housing projects can be addressed without affecting buyers.
“I had previously proposed in Parliament that if there are abandoned projects, there needs to be intervention from Bank Negara Malaysia or the related banks, to ensure that buyers do not need to continue making their loan repayment.
