KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry needs RM400 million to maintain and upgrade 8,270 Armed Forces Family Housing (RKAT) units which are damaged.
The ministry, through the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) is in the process of getting the funds to maintain and repair the homes in stages beginning next year so that they are safe for occupation.
“The ministry has identified 9,744 units which are in the category of vacant and damaged, with maintenance work currently being carried out in 1,474 units, with a Special Allocation 2019 of RM50 million,” said a ministry statement today.
According to the Auditor General’s Report 2018 Series 1 on Monday, the maintenance of the RKAT units was unsatisfactory with 12,261 homes unsafe for occupation.
The report also said the maintenance of the RKAT homes was inefficient and it had not met its objective of providing conducive and safe homes for members of the armed forces
According to the statement, the MAF applied for an allocation amounting to RM1,043.49 million to maintain the RKAT units from 2015 until 2018, but only RM258.25 million was approved and the number of RKAT units which were maintained during that period was limited.
As of last year, 54,497 units of RKAT had been completed with only 40,024 units occupied.
“Of the remaining 12,261 units which were unoccupied, 783 units have been categorised as unsafe, 1,734 recommended for demolition and 9,744 vacant and damaged.
“A total of 535 units are in the process of being documented for demolition, with 248 more to be repaired in stages and 227 to be demolished, while 1,507 units are in the process of being approved for demolition,” the statement said. — Bernama
