Low-income group deprived of low-cost flats
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In demand: The Seri Jati flats in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya.
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FORMER Kampung Lembah Subang resident A. Poinaiah, 53, was jobless when he was evicted from the squatter area about five years ago.
“I haven’t been working for the past eight years because of my high blood pressure,” he said.
After staying at Kampung Lembah Subang for 13 years, he tried to get a low-cost unit at the Seri Jati flats in Ara Damansara but was told that there were no units available.
Instead, he was offered a low-cost unit at the Pelangi Damansara flats in Kampung Kayu Ara, Petaling Jaya.
“It was just too far for us because we don’t own a car. I have four daughters who work in the area and it just didn’t make sense for us to move so far away,” said Poinaiah.
When he tried to find out why there were no more units left, he was told by some other residents that those who paid “a little extra” were able to obtain units.
“I was umemployed at that time so I couldn’t come up with the money,” he said.
To make it easier for his daughters to go to work, he decided to rent a unit at the Seri Jati flats, paying RM400 a month for the three-bedroom flat.
Some other former squatters could not get units because they were unable to get loans approved.
S. Pannirselvam, 54, also a former Kg Lembah Subang resident, was lucky enough to be able to purchase a unit but he said that some of his friends were not so lucky.
“It was hard for some of them to get loans while some of them did not have the proper salary slips to submit their applications so they had to find other places to stay in,” he said.
Poinaiah added that many units in Seri Jati were rented from owners who charged between RM400 to RM500, depending on how many people stayed in it.
“We heard that there were several units that were owned by the same owner,” he said.
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