It also took to task former prime minister Najib Razak for speaking up on behalf of taxi drivers when he could have helped them a long time ago.

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Raja Kamarul Bahrin said the government had no problem considering applications from taxi drivers for PPR homes, given that their conditions of living were not good.

However, he said his ministry needed more time to go through each application as it did not have a complete database on PPR, such as the full list of owners and those eligible to apply.

“We will consider all applications from people qualified for the PPR homes.

“The problem we are facing now is we do not have a complete database from the previous administration.

“It takes time to scrutinise and look for details, to check on their eligibility and validity,” he told FMT.

Raja Kamarul said it was important to determine who needed the units and if they were qualified to own them.

“This is because, in the past, there were a number of people who were allotted PPR homes even though they already owned other units or houses elsewhere and were not eligible to apply.

“Also, the units were distributed to certain people who had political connections.

“So, our target now is to ensure that those who get PPR homes are those who need them.”

He said applications were received from a cross-section of the people and not only from taxi drivers.

Recently, Najib had urged the government to consider giving PPR units to taxi drivers, saying a number of them still have no homes.

He said the cabbies had “begged before” but there had been no response.

“For me, this is not fair,” he was reported to have said.

Raja Kamarul said it would be unfair if Najib had said that Pakatan Harapan (PH) did not prioritise taxi drivers who needed help.

“The applications will take at least about three to four months to process.

“Others, we have to rearrange some data, and there are also problems due to abandoned projects.”

He said he had approached some banks to give applicants more flexibility in enabling them to obtain loans.

He said Najib should have done all these a long time ago when he was in power.

Raja Kamarul said his ministry was also now managing and updating housing agencies under its portfolio, including the Federal Territory Affordable Housing (Rumawip) programme and the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme (PR1MA).