Low-cost House: More is Less?

Good news? Prime Minister Pak Lah officially announced that City hall will be building low-cost houses at RM35,000 with 3-bedroom and 2-baths from 3-bedroom and 1-bath. That's fantastic!!!! The listeners were so delighted.

Anyway, it was not expressly explained that the house will still be 650 feet square as it has always been. So, how did the manage the space for the additional bath? Originally, the bedroom is already so claustrophobic and the 3rd room is less than 80 sq ft and the kitchen was about 50sq. ft. Now with the bath, the space from the dining or kitchen will have to be shrunk or that the new additional bath will have to be built outside the house, at the backyard.

I am not sure if you have ever tried to stay in one of those houses, but unless your family are so destitute, you may rather rent a house in a village at RM100 a month with a space of at least 800 ft sq or might as well go back to the kampung lifestyle which is far much comfortable.

PERFORMANCE REVIEW - PART 1

MY SECOND HOME - BY MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

Boasting of our performance is the Politicians way of signing checks which the body can't pay. Today onwards, we will conduct the various performance of our system, each governmental departments performance and how we analyze the performance in comparison with the Bland talk of politicians.

This is an article published in The Star on Saturday, 17, 2004 by Jen M, Selangor:

I am a foreigner married to a Malaysian professional and I applied for PR status about three years agoI am still awaiting a reply. Even the Indonesian cleaners who used to clean my house possess citizenship although they have not been here long. I come from a country with first-world status and I possess a first degree from a university of world-class standing. I also hold a post-graduate degree from a developed nation. I have two lovely boys who attend the local government school. I have resided in this country for 13 years and have contributed much to the nation in terms of professional development and work. It is incomprehensible why it has to take years before I get a reply from the department as in my home country, foreigners are assured of a reply within six months. Each time I checked with the department, I am given the usual answer of “still processing.” Isn’t it the least that the department can do for foreigners who have settled comfortably in this country and are committed to doing their best for the country?

But how is it that foreigners from certain countries are granted PR status and citizenship easily without having to go through the agony of waiting endlessly. Even if such selection may be part of the Government’s planning, perhaps it is time to look at the alarming rate of crime. More than half of so-called petty crimes have been committed by migrant workers rather than those who are professionally qualified. However, my concern is over the selective granting of PR status to foreigners and the specified time that applicants have to wait before they receive a reply.

QUESTION: PLEASE MEASURE THE PERFORMANCE EFFICIENCY & WHAT KEY PERFORMANCE INDEX SET BY THE GOVERNMENT?

On June 25, 2004, Home Affair Minister, Datuk Azmi Khalid announced that the Government had relaxed conditions for foreign citizen wishing to join the "Malaysia - My Second Home" programme. How is it that a foreign spouse who had been working here for the last 13 years is unable to get the PR Status? Are we all nuts being unable to understand your initiative announced as above?; Over to you, Datuk Azmi Khalid????