Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said these quarters had been left unoccupied and will help address the housing shortage faced by policemen from early next year.

He said the matter on the unoccupied teachers’ quarters came up during a Cabinet meeting, whereas the police force faced a shortage of 9,000 housing units, Bernama reported.

On Nov 21, education minister Fadhlina Sidek said they had offered these vacant teacher quarters to other government agencies to optimise their use.

Saifuddin said his ministry was ready to allocate funds to refurbish these quarters to make them suitable for police personnel and their families.