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BANGSAMORO MINISTRY FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT UNDERTAKE STUDY VISIT TO MALAYSIA TO LEARN BEST PRACTICES IN HOUSING ON 22-27 DECEMBER 2023
Kuala Lumpur, 01 January 2024 - A 26-member delegation from the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) visited Kuala Lumpur on 22-27 December 2023 for a study tour entitled “Cross-border Observatory Learning: Enhancing BARMM Human Settlements Development through Study Tour in Malaysia”.
The delegation was led by Minister Atty. Hamid Aminoddin Barra, who was also joined by Deputy Minister Aldin Asiri and Director General Esmael Ibrahim.
The MHSD is the primary agency of the BARMM responsible for the management of housing, human settlements and rural/urban development.
It is mandated to lead in the provision of decent and affordable housing and community development in the Bangsamoro, including for the underprivileged, victims of calamities and conflicts, former MILF combatants and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
On 26 December 2023, the delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, where they were received by Ambassador-Designate Maria Angela Ponce, along with other Embassy officials.
Ambassador-Designate Ponce congratulated Minister Barra for his contributions to the peace process in Mindanao and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which marks its 10th anniversary in 2024, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Malaysia. She also expressed the Embassy’s support in the initiatives of the BARMM and its various agencies in enhancing their technical capabilities and building expertise to better perform their mandate.
Minister Barra shared that housing and human settlements is a new mandate given to the BARMM in the CAB and in Republic Act No. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which was not expressly given to the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). As such, the MHSD is a new ministry with no counterpart in the former ARMM Government.
The delegation’s objective in its visit to Malaysia is to learn from Malaysia’s best practices in socialized housing and public housing design to enhance the Ministry’s technical capability and resources in providing decent and affordable housing in the Bangsamoro.
During their study tour, the MHSD delegation met with officials of the Ministry for Housing and Local Development (MHLD) of Malaysia, Putrajaya Corporation, the Khazanah Research Institute and Universiti Putra Malaysia.
They also conducted a site visit to PP Sentul Murni – a federal housing project managed by the Housing Management Division of the National Housing Department of Malaysia. END
