GEORGE TOWN, Dec 14 — The Penang government is seeking an allocation of RM86 million from the federal government for public housing maintenance in the state in 2021.

State Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman, Jagdeep Singh Deo said the state government had received a sum of RM32 million from the federal government early this year for 2020 and hoped the allocation would continue to be extended especially during the pandemic now.

"This morning, Housing and Local Government Minister, Zuraida Kamaruddin held a meeting with me via Zoom and I expressed the request of Penang for allocation to upkeep multi-storey public and private housing schemes as well as for the supply of affordable houses in Penang from the federal government,” he told reporters here today.

He said there is a need for funds from the central government in this pandemic as the manpower to carry out monitoring of standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance is limited apart from maintenance works.

"If allocation is available, the Commissioner of Building (COB) can conduct continuous monitoring to ensure public safety and health. Budget 2021 would be settled tomorrow so I am seeking all friends at state and federal levels to give focus to the pandemic,” he said.

In another development, Jagdeep said to date, 38,695 Covid-19 screenings had been carried on residents from 15 clusters in Penang including 1,327 residents from the new cluster in Sungai Kluang.

According to him, screenings among foreigners has reached almost 10,000. — Bernama