KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today pledged to build 5,000 council homes for the urban poor, as he vowed to make Kuala Lumpur city "inclusive”, vowing at its 50th anniversary celebration here that he would pursue a development that leaves "nobody behind”.

Housing is usually a key election issue because of how unaffordable the market has become for a majority of the workforce, whose median income is still less than RM3,000, making property ownership severely out of reach, especially in the cities.

Ismail said the council homes will be built as part of a drive to elevate the lives of KL’s low-income households, in recognition of their contribution to the city’s economy.

"DBKL is currently in the process of turning Kuala Lumpur into a city with zero-poverty status. To enable city dwellers to have a more comfortable life, DBKL will build 5,000 council homes with a minimum area of 750 square feet to be rented out,” he said.

The plan to build council homes dates back to the Pakatan Harapan administration and was later retained by the succeeding government.

Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the council home project is aimed at helping young and low-income families by providing them temporary housing, to be rented for as low as RM350 to RM850 a month.

The tenure will last between three to five years, with the goal of helping the families transition towards ownership eventually. Annuar said in 2020 that DBKL will be looking to build 2,000 of the council homes.

It is uncertain if the units announced are a part of or separate from the 5,000 units pledged by Ismail tonight.

The council units announced by the prime minister were among the initiatives that make the so-called ‘Keluarga Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Well-Being Package’ (PKKMKL), which Ismail said would "improve the quality of life and quicker delivery of online services in the nation’s capital.”

A major theme of the package was targeted at the city’s poorest households.

Among them, Ismail said DBKL will work towards expediting the time to process petty trading licence applications to just under a day, hoping it would bolster opportunities for the urban poor to set up businesses without much red tape.

Ismail said Kuala Lumpur became a thriving economic centre because of its people, and he vowed to heed their voice and views in any development plans for the federal capital.

"It is their voices and views that will drive the government’s efforts, in particular, on the objectives and focus on the administration of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur today,” he said.

"This is in line with my commitment.”