Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) president Datuk N. K. Tong.
DATUK N.K. TONG
President
Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda)
FOR the housing industry, the allocations for the Bottom 40% group are much needed and will allow more Malaysians to own homes, including the RM546mil for Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) in Johor, RM358mil for the development of 3,500 residential units under 14 Program Rumah
Mesra Rakyat and RM460mil for the extremely underprivileged in rural areas to build or repair their homes. This speaks volumes of the government’s efforts to ensure that no rakyat is left behind when it comes housing.
The increase of the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme of up to RM10bil to benefit 40,000 borrowers is also a much-welcomed news, which we hope will assist to increase homeownership amongst gig economy workers and those without a monthly income statement.
We view with cautious optimism Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement to reduce the majority consent for en-bloc sale from 100% to a level consistent with Singapore’s which stands at 80% to 90%. This will better reflect the equity and voice of the people living in strata-2 titled properties.
As Rehda and other stakeholders await for more details on the announcement, we believe that if it comes into fruition, it will lead towards a reformed urban regeneration landscape that will see Malaysia on par with other global nations in terms of urban sustainability.
Rehda also welcomes the announcement to loosen requirements for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme. As one of the stakeholders, Rehda hopes to be included in engagements and discussions pertaining to MM2H.
However, the association expresses concerns over plans to introduce a 4% flat rate for the stamp duty on memorandum of transfers on purchases by foreign individuals and companies. Although the number of foreign ownerships in Malaysia is negligible, this may discourage those who are looking at migrating to Malaysia.
Rehda is also wary of the decision to increase service tax to 8% from 6% on selected industries and sectors. As a player of an industry that is still finding its footing post-Covid, we fear that this will directly or indirectly impact the livelihood and income of stakeholders across many industries.
