JOHOR BARU: At least four tenants of a low-cost public housing scheme in Johor have come under scrutiny after being found to own luxury cars, raising questions over their eligibility for subsidised homes intended for lower-income households.
The tenants live at the People's Housing Programme (PPR) project in Kempas, where a recent enforcement operation by the Johor State Housing Development Corporation (PKPJ) uncovered their vehicle ownership.
One of the vehicles was a MINI John CooperWorks sports model worth nearly RM400,000.
Johor has 15,631 affordable rental homes under 14 PPR projects and eight Government Rental Housing (RSK) projects, managed by PKPJ for lower-income households.
PKPJ chief executive officer Datin Paduka Dr Suhailizan Suliman said the cases were uncovered during investigations into vehicle ownership among public housing tenants.
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"We are reviewing vehicle ownership data and conducting fresh profiling of tenants to assess whether they still meet the eligibility criteria, including those found to own luxury vehicles."
However, she stressed that owning a luxury vehicle did not automatically constitute a breach of the rules.
"Every case will undergo checks and verification before further action is taken in accordance with the applicable rules and procedures."
She said remedial notices had been issued to the four tenants, who would undergo further checks to determine eligibility.
The findings have raised questions over whether subsidised homes are reaching those who need them, as thousands of Johoreans continue to depend on affordable rental housing.
Suhailizan said PKPJ was stepping up enforcement against the misuse of PPR and RSK units to ensure eligible low-income families had fair access.
Since the beginning of this year, about 1,453 remedial notices had been issued over rental arrears. A further 348 termination notices and 55 eviction notices were issued after tenants ignored remedial notices.
Enforcement efforts had also targeted illegal subletting and tenants who left their units vacant, denying other eligible families access to affordable homes, she said.
"Subletting is a serious offence," she told the New Straits Times.
The public housing projects are intended to provide affordable rental homes for the B40 group, comprising the bottom 40 per cent of households by income and generally including lower-income families eligible for targeted government assistance.
"So far, we have issued remedial notices to 68 tenants for illegally subletting their PPR and RSK units, with 47 served termination and eviction notices."
Suhailizan said PKPJ had also issued 812 remedial notices to tenants who failed to occupy their units or left them vacant. Of these, 328 received termination and eviction notices.
Of the cases involving vacant units, 89 tenants were confirmed not to be occupying their homes, prompting eviction operations.
She said enforcement was carried out through periodic inspections, public complaints and cooperation with the management bodies of PPR and RSK projects.
She warned that PKPJ would not compromise on proven violations, including unauthorised subletting, leaving units vacant and other breaches.
"The housing provided by the Johor government is assistance for those who genuinely need it, not something to be misused for personal gain.
"Many Johoreans are still in need of a home. We must not deny them the opportunity by abusing the facilities provided by the state government," she added.
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