SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan government has defended the Seremban City Council's (MBS) decision to remove doors from hardcore poor housing programme (PPRT) units where tenants have failed to pay rent for years.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun stated that although the move was considered drastic by some, MBS had no other option as tenants continued to ignore notices to pay.
"The interesting part is that the tactic has worked. We have had some of the hardcore defaulters coming the next day to pay up, and there was one who made a lump sum payment of RM14,000," he told reporters after chairing the state exco meeting.
Aminuddin noted that this showed most defaulters had simply refused to pay, assuming these were state government-owned units.
Last week, MBS removed the doors at six PPRT flats in Lobak after tenants failed to pay rent for years.
The tenants owed back rent between RM17,000 and RM34,000 each, with a monthly rental of RM150 per unit.
In December, MBS removed doors from several units at the Paroi PPR, where tenants owed more than RM15,000 each.
Aminuddin mentioned that some original tenants had been renting out the units to others.
"They collect almost double the rent from the new tenants and even then, they do not pay rent to MBS.
We have to understand that the local councils have to take drastic measures as the rent is not only cheap but it has to pay a lot of money for maintenance, beautification, and waste disposal services," he said.
He added that some defaulters refused to pay despite MBS allowing them to pay in instalments.
"These tenants can pay for other services like Astro, but when it comes to rent, they just refuse," he said, noting that the cheapest rental property here costs between RM500 and RM600.
On a separate matter, Aminuddin announced that the state government has agreed to give a one-off Hari Raya cash aid to the chairmen, secretaries, and treasurers of the 434 Village Development and Security committees in the state.
The chairmen will receive RM500 each, followed by secretaries (RM300 each) and treasurers (RM200).
The Negri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Council has also set aside RM5.15mil for the 311 mosques and 1,199 surau in the state in conjunction with Ramadan, while tahfiz teachers will be given RM811,000.
