"In my own constituency of Petagas, I have conducted a study based on the existing villages, as well as two villages that I have gazetted. I estimate that there are almost 50 SMJ applicants in Petagas.

"They have applied for houses but there is no land. I have applied for land to be gazetted as village reserves, while some already have small individual land titles, perhaps one or two, maybe four or five people," said Awang Ahmad Sah, who is also the Sabah Housing and Town Development Board (LPPB) chairman.

According to him, the cost of constructing high-rise SMJ homes may exceed the current RM100,000 allocation per unit, but the government could consider increasing subsidies to ensure the homes remain affordable.

He said the government should begin planning high-rise housing developments more seriously as lower-income groups were finding it increasingly difficult to obtain land or purchase homes, especially in areas close to urban centres.

Meanwhile, Datuk Hazem Mubarak Musa (GRS-Sungai Manila) urged the state government to expedite efforts to revive and boost barter trade in Sandakan to stimulate economic activity and create more income opportunities for the people.

He said the proposal to revive the trading activity had previously been raised during a State Legislative Assembly sitting.

"I hope efforts to revive and revitalise barter trade will not take too long," he said when debating the Bill.

Hazem said the request for an additional RM1.612 billion allocation reflected the state government's seriousness and commitment to ensuring Sabah continued to progress and develop through plans implemented for the benefit of the people.

He said Sabah could draw lessons from Sarawak's progress, but the state's development should be carried out based on its own approach and model.

-- BERNAMA