Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin (in pink) at the launch of Program Mendaya Komuniti at PPR Lembah Subang 2 in Petaling Jaya.
THIRTY housewives from PPR (People's Housing Project) Lembah Subang 2 have been picked to undergo training to become qualified caretakers of their neighbours' children.
The pilot project in Petaling Jaya is an initiative by the Housing and Local Government Ministry, and backed by the Welfare Department.
The housewives, once qualified, will assist parents who don't have the means to send their children to daycare or kindergarten for free.
Instead of cash, the women will be given non-monetary incentives like vouchers.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the ministry would like to prevent incidents like the three-year-old girl who died after falling from the 17th floor of PPR Kota Damansara.
The child was home alone as her parents went out to sell food.
“In the three-year-old girl’s case, the problem was not because of the faulty building design, and neither should we blame the parents. Poverty is the root cause.
"This is where we want the community to come together and help,” said Zuraida at the launch of Program Mendaya Komuniti at PPR Lembah Subang 2 in Petaling Jaya on Sunday (Sept 30).
“Say the mother needs to bring a sick child to the hospital. (In such a situation) the rest of the kids could then be taken care of by the trained housewives. They will be given non-monetary incentives such as vouchers for their assistance,” she explained.
Zuraida's ministry also set up a unit consisting of 20 officers, including counsellors, who will help empower the community under the Sekretariat Muafakat Komuniti.
The initiative by the secretariat will be assessed in a month by Zuraida, who hopes to introduce it to PPR Sentul Murni in Kuala Lumpur and PPR Kota Baru in Kelantan.
“There will be officers stationed here on a daily basis to instruct residents on cleanliness, water and energy conservation, waste management and social well-being.
“I may even visit this community every week, if time permits, to monitor the progress” said Zuraida.
Asked to comment on StarMetro’s front page story on Saturday (Sept 29) about PPR Taman Putra Damai Lembah Subang being plagued by social issues, Zuraida said her department had categorised it as a "mature PPR" and determined that it had a different set of problems.
“It is among the older PPRs, and we will tackle the issues there differently.
"As an immediate plan, I have requested that a task force be set up in each block to monitor issues like theft and the identify of residents who are not supposed to be living there.
“We are doing a survey to find out the true number of qualified residents living here. As of now, out of the 3,000 unit of flats, there are about 187 units that are vacant because they are inhabitable.
"Another 300 units were sublet. In the long term, we will do redevelopment there,” said Zuraida.
She said in terms of social problems, such as children dropping out of school due to poverty, she wanted to implement a focused approach.
“We will do community projects there, too, and work with councillors and assemblyman to address the various issues,” Zuraida said.
The ministry would also be placing CCTV at PPR Lembah Subang 2 for security purposes and to monitor cleanliness, she added.
Among those present at the launch of the project was Selangor housing and urban living chairman Haniza Mohd Talha, Housing and Local Government Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Mentek, Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain, Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah and Seri Setia assemblyman Halimey Abu Bakar and Petaling Jaya councillor Anwar Nekhan.
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