PEKAN: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak officially launched two integrated housing and community centres for the poor in Kampung Padang Rumbia and Kampung Pulau Serai recently that will benefit 162 families.

The housing project, part of a nationwide effort to eradicate poverty, involved the full support of the private sector.

Under this project, families were given furnished homes and provided with income-generating ventures such as agriculture and aquaculture activities and livestock rearing.

The housing area was also completed with facilities such as food processing centres, ICT lab and handicraft production centres.

Najib said no Government allocation had been given for the project and it was funded by the private sector.

“It simply reflects the close cooperation between the Federal and state governments with the private sector,” he added.

Najib also said since becoming the Prime Minister nearly three years ago, he had always been open to all manner of new ideas resulting in the implementation of various Government policies.

A benchmark for any Govern-ment’s authority was in the contestation of ideas, he added.

“The free housing project for needy people is an example born from these exchange of ideas,” he said.

On the housing and community centres, Najib said each house, measuring 92.9 sq m, was fully furnished with a free gas cylinder for cooking.

Fifty families received their house keys from Najib during the function.

Later, at the Kampung Pulau Serai integrated housing project, the Pekan MP officially opened the Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia which he described as the largest mall concept in Malaysia.

Among the facilities available were a landscape industry centre, fiber boat production centre, handicraft centre and an ICT resource centre.

Najib also gave away house keys to 112 families.

The first integrated housing and community centre project was launched in July, 2010, involving 60 families in Bukit Kenau, Pulau Manis here.

source : Star Property