JANUARY 28 ― Two Penang Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders are the latest to hit out at Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) attempt to undermine the PH federal government’s effort to learn from Singapore’s public housing formula by claiming that the move would destroy Malay villages and reduce the proportion of Malays living in public housing.

PN’s narrative of the so-called attempt by the state government of adopting a public housing scheme to change the demography of the island followed Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming's announcement that the Singaporean government had given its approval for the country’s Housing Development Board (HDB) flat contractors to visit his ministry next month to share their knowledge on building affordable housing.

Perhaps it’s true that we are pretty forgetful people.

In April last year, it was the other way around when Johor Menteri Besar (MB) Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi visited the Singapore HDB as part of his three-day working visit to Singapore in a move to strengthen ties between the state and the republic.

His official visit was announced by the Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Following the visit, the MB said that the Johor State Housing Development Corporation (PKPJ) would make the implementation of the HDB’s development concept as its benchmark in providing comprehensive affordable housing development planning in every district in the state.

"A home for shelter and comfort is a basic necessity for every individual,” Onn wrote in a Facebook posting.

So, Johor too is learning from Singapore’s HDB.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.