Think City, community leaders to spearhead K2K programme for local public housing

• K2K aims to enhance support of public housing communities and building management to solve social, economic and physical challenges through four critical areas, namely community empowerment, community co-management, improved income generation, and policy reform.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 10): As part of the Budget 2023 initiatives, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pictured) launched the Kita-Untuk-Kita (K2K) programme on Saturday (April 8), which will be spearheaded by Think City, community leaders, community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, and other partners.

According to a press release on Saturday, K2K aims to enhance support of public housing communities and building management to solve social, economic and physical challenges through four critical areas, namely community empowerment, community co-management, improved income generation, and policy reform.

The programme will kick off with public homes in Kuala Lumpur, followed by homes in Selangor.

Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said: “I'm delighted to see Think City's initiatives, which were meant to help people weather the Covid-19 storm, evolve to something bigger and more long-term, with support from the private sector and non-profit organisations.

“The K2K programme has stood the test of time in helping to empower communities by building community leaders. This is yet another example of the Selangor state government's unrelenting commitment to transforming the nature of public housing from being viewed as cheap and undesirable to a place where communities can not only gain access to liveable affordable housing, but also live with dignity.”

The statement also shared that the K2K programme will be strengthened by an intergovernmental committee that will involve various public and private stakeholders to accelerate its coordination and implementation.

Concurring with Amirudin, Think City managing director Hamdan Abdul Majeed said, “As we work to implement these initiatives in the immediate future, we hope to shape a democratic and sustainable path based on trust with the public housing communities, our networks and partnerships to jointly implement comprehensive programmes where it matters most.”

“These efforts are also in tandem with our holding company Khazanah [Nasional Bhd]'s focus on the Advancing Malaysia strategy to deliver societal and economic value and impact to the Malaysian community,” Hamdan added.

Meanwhile, Noor Hayati Ismail, the secretary of People's Housing Project (PPR) community organisation Perwacom Prihatin, highlighted the real-life challenges and plight of residents in public housing. “Perwacom was created during the Covid pandemic to help communities solve immediate problems, and reduce the highly stressful environment created by the lockdown and other constraints. [Residents] have expressed their desire not to be a community that seeks handouts from the government, but that seeks support to enable them to build a better future for themselves in their older age, and for the future of their children,” Noor Hayati said, adding that this programme may transition public housing from its poverty trap into a liveable community.