September 25, 2006 19:55 PM

DISABLED-FRIENDLY... Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak chairs the National Council on Local Government meeting in Putrajaya. Also seen is Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting. Pix: Shaifuldin Ahmad

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- All buildings and public amenities must be disabled-friendly to cater to the needs of the disabled, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Monday.

He also said that all buildings and public amenities should provide an obstacle-free environment for these people.

Najib said guidelines on disabled-friendly new buildings and public amenities would be made available soon by the local authorities.

For existing buildings and public amenities, the local authorities would provide the guidelines to make these places disabled-friendly, he said.

A decision on the matter was achieved at the meeting of the National Council on Local Government chaired by Najib at the Bangunan Perdana Putra, here.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Najib said 38 municipal councils would set up one-stop centres to expedite the processing of applications for land for houses under the "build first, sell later" concept.

He said these centres would process applications for conversion of land status, land fragmentation and building plans forwarded by housing developers involved in the concept.

The measure was aimed at giving incentives to developers involved in the "build first, sell later" concept so that their applications could be processed in a period of only four months, he said.

Najib said the meeting also learnt that local authorities that had installed closed circuit television cameras under the safe township programme had recorded a drop in the crime rate in their areas.

Replying to a question, Najib said the government could not abolish all investments from Singapore as this would send a wrong signal.

Malaysia needed sustained investment from abroad but, at the same time, it had to ensure that investment from overseas did not undermine national interest in strategic sectors, he added.

Source: BERNAMA