Civil servants will be encouraged instead to buy their own homes through the PPA1M scheme (1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing), the Borneo Post reported today.

Sabah Federal Secretary Borhan Dolah, commenting on the issue said that government quarters would only be made available to uniformed civil staff.

Borhan said that with the halt in building staff quarters, the government hoped to encourage civil servants to purchase their own houses so they would always have a roof over their heads, particularly after retirement.

“We don’t want civil servants to become complacent residing in government housing and only realise that they don’t have a house upon their retirement,” he said.

He said a total of 4,735 units of PPA1M housing was being built in Sabah, with 100 units already handed to their respective owners in Tawau. Other areas where units are being built are Kinarut, Tuaran, Papar and Sandakan.

A total of 1,257 civil servants have applied for government quarters in Sabah, with the biggest chunk coming from the state’s capital city Kota Kinabalu, said the report.