Call to enhance low cost housing quality

16/10/2001 NST

DEVELOPERS should place special emphasis on the quality of buildings including low cost housing structures to cater for the needs of the people, Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Salleh Tun Said said.

He said buildings should be built to last long and less stereotyped to reflect the modernisation process in the state's construction industry.

"It is better to have high quality buildings that require little maintenance and are renewed at long intervals than to have low quality structures involving high maintenance, needing to be replaced at a shorter period of time," he said at the Sabah Housing Developers' Association annual dinner.

Salleh said there was no place for short life building albeit using renewable materials as the living environment was the lifeline of the people's well being.

"Development for housing has proven its value in expanding opportunities for better living, both in style and quality. Ultimately, that is the purpose of our work, to build better homes for people, to provide an environment for fulfillment and quality of life," he said.

As such, developers' projects should not only win attention but also the people's interest and aspirations, he said.

"The time has come for buyers to demand for skills and value. We need to be more expressive in our products. Customers want distinction yet many developments still provide stereotype features.

"Mass market does not necessarily mean mass taste and low cost housing must not be primitive dwelling," he said.

He said the state government would do its utmost to ensure developers play their role effectively and spearhead action in sustaining the state's economy. - Bernama