The four 38-storey Rumah Keluarga Malaysia Angkatan Tentera (RKMAT) apartment blocks sit on a 3316ha plot of land. Each unit, with either two or three rooms, has 850 sq feet of space.
In a speech at the ceremony, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the project meant a lot to him as it began during his time as senior defence minister and hoped it would reduce the burden on military families.
“Many have to rent (accommodation) around the Klang Valley due to a lack of quarters in the area.
“Worrying to me is that the rental rates and cost of living in the Klang Valley is quite high and exceeds the fixed housing allowance that the military personnel receive.”
Ismail said each unit was furnished and the complex offered a variety of amenities.
He hoped future RMKAT development projects would meet similar standards
Senior defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein said out of the 8,852 housing units that his ministry was committed to deliver to military families under the 12th Malaysia Plan, 1,509 were already under construction while another 7,343 were being procured.
“With the completion of the 2,000 RKMAT units here in Bukit Jalil, we will be able to meet 85% of the housing needs of ATM personnel in the Klang Valley.”
Sergeant Alan Ng, stationed at the Sungai Besi base camp, told FMT the new quarters were far more comfortable than those he had stayed in previously during his 10-year military career.
“I have a wife and a daughter. They also say that this is cosier than the other places we have stayed at.”
Speaking at the event, LTAT chairman Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamad Noor said the property sale safeguarded the welfare of the military staff, who are mandatory contributors to the retirement fund.
“The revenue from this sale will provide an increase in dividends for military members while providing good housing for armed forces personnel,” he said at the signing ceremony for the sale and purchase agreement.
The signing ceremony and symbolic handing over of keys to military personnel were also attended by defence forces chief Affendi Buang and army chief Zamrose Mohd Zain.