Housing and Local Government Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said this special consideration applied to homeowners stuck with abandoned housing projects that were at least 80 per cent complete.

He said these homeowners stood a better chance of reviving the stalled project if they pooled their resources together.

"This would make it easier for them to obtain the Certificates of Fitness for occupation (CFs). "It is not feasible for an individual to complete his home and expect to stay in it, because it is not technically possible to provide water and electricity supply for just one house.

"If they can, these homeowners can appoint their own developer to continue with construction. It is better if they work as a team," he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

Earlier in reply to a question by Hashim Jahaya (BN-Kuala Kedah), Dr Subramaniam said the Government had identified 199 housing projects which had been abandoned since 1990.

"Of these, 92 have been, or are being revived. Another 99 still lay abandoned while the remaining eight have been classified as hard to revive," he said.

Dr Subramaniam said among the measures the Government took to revive stalled projects were co-ordinating negotiations involving the developer, house buyers, technical agents and financial institutions to reach a compromise.

"We also advise and provide guidelines to parties who are interested in taking over a stalled project apart from working with Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd in conducting studies and reviving viable projects."