BERA, Oct 22 — The success of collecting up to RM1 billion in revenue and attracting investment of up to RM20.56 billion is evidence that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in Pahang can ensure continued economic development in the future, says caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.He said the success also proved the Pahang State Government's ability to preserve the prosperity and well-being of its people, including those in Bera.

"I would like to congratulate the state government administration on successfully collecting revenue of RM1 billion for the first time and attracting investments amounting to RM20.56 billion as announced in the Pahang Budget 2023," he said when officiating at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Bera People's Housing Programme (PPR) here, today.

Also present were Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and his deputy Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Mutalib.

The caretaker prime minister then called on the people of Pahang to ensure that the BN government continues to receive the mandate in the 15th General Election (GE15) as it was important for the state and federal governments to be on the same page.

"I say this because, during GE15, Pahang will also elect a state government. If the current Pahang government is this great, I believe it will continue to rule Pahang," he said.

In the meantime, the caretaker prime minister announced another Keluarga Malaysia initiative, namely the Bera PPR project to meet the needs of qualified low-income earners who did not yet own a home.

"The Bera PPR project is a manifestation of the close cooperation between the Federal Government and the State Government that has been established for a long time," said Ismail Sabri, who is also Bera MP.

He said the Bera PPR project involving 1,000 three-room terrace houses only cost RM45,000 each, compared to the actual cost of RM160,000, meaning the government was subsidising the house by almost RM120,000.

In the PPR project which comprises housing units of 750 square feet each, 100 units have been reserved for military and police veterans and another 10 units for Persons with Disabilities.

Ismail Sabri said to ensure that the houses are bought by the intended target group, namely those with a household income group of RM5,000 and below, the state government should adopt the same PPR policy as the Federal government, where the house cannot be rented or resold within the first 10 years.

Meanwhile, Reezal Merican in his speech said Pahang had the highest number of PPR projects in the Peninsula, namely 31 projects that have contributed over 4,000 housing units.

He said this included three PPR projects in Pahang that were still under construction, namely PPR Tahan, Jerantut (100 units), Rumah Malaysia (Rented), in Lanchang (350 units) and PPR Beserah Chendor (100 units).

"In Budget 2023 that was presented at the beginning of October, the Government continued its agenda for the welfare of the people by providing an allocation of RM367 million to build more PPRs," he said. — Bernama