Malaysia Consumer Justice Association president R. Permal Ramasamy said he has been receiving grouses from the public about increasingly expensive food served at eateries in and around Johor Baru.
JOHOR consumer groups are calling for the Federal Government to consider extending the Rumah Belia Madani (RBM) scheme, targeted at youths, to other parts of the country.
Malaysia Consumer Justice Association (PKPM) president R. Permal Ramasamy said the scheme should not only focus on Kuala Lumpur as the lack of affordable housing was a nationwide issue.
“Owning a house is not a problem only for youths in the capital city but also in other major cities, such as Johor Baru and George Town,” he said when contacted by StarMetro.
He proposed that the Federal Government work with Johor government to implement the RBM scheme in Iskandar Malaysia.
“Johor government could allocate state-owned land for the development of RBM, as the move could reduce building costs,’’ Permal suggested.
The high price of land in Iskandar Malaysia, he said, was one of the main reasons developers were forced to pass the cost on to housebuyers.
“We believe the collaboration between the federal and state governments will create a win-win situation for all parties,” he added.
Johor Consumer Movement Association chairman Md Salleh Sadijo agreed that other states should not be left out of the scheme.
He hoped that the project would be implemented as scheduled and would not merely be a rebranding of existing affordable housing schemes.
“Over the years, we have seen many such schemes renamed, regardless of whether at the federal or state level,” he noted.
He said that it was more important for the scheme to benefit the target groups instead of merely looking good on paper.
He highlighted that it was near impossible for those aged 35 and below to own a house, especially in Iskandar Malaysia.
“Youths have no choice but to continue renting a place,” said Salleh.
Meanwhile, KGV International Property Consultants executive director Samuel Tan said the recently passed Budget 2023 was not able to create much excitement.
“It will be good to implement the RBM on a cross-subsidy basis by the ministry and the developers,” he said in a statement.
Tan also said that the full stamp duty exemption for first-time housebuyers should continue for another one year for houses priced below RM500,000.
“For those who cannot afford to buy houses, rent-to-buy schemes must be implemented,” he said.
On Feb 25, Local Government Development Ministry and Syarikat BMG Global Sdn Bhd signed an agreement for the construction of 1,048 units under the RBM scheme in Kuala Lumpur over the next five years.
