KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s takeover of the Bandar Malaysia development, aimed at ensuring optimal utilisation of strategic lands for people-oriented projects as outlined in the Budget 2024, will result in various benefits for the people, says an academician.
Senior lecturer at the Centre of Real Estate Studies, College of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Mara Assoc Prof Dr Mona Isa said the move indicates that the government is not only focused on commercial values but also proves its concern for the needs and well-being of the people.
"The Bandar Malaysia project is located in the federal capital, and any construction of affordable housing requires a sustainable location for residents to have easy access to essential amenities such as public transportation.
"If the housing project is located far from the city centre, it will certainly burden residents to commute to work and, as such, increase other costs,” Mona told Bernama.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when tabling the Malaysia Madani Budget 2024 on Oct 13, announced that the unity government has taken over the development of Bandar Malaysia to ensure that strategically located lands are optimally utilised for people-oriented projects, in line with Madani values.
This includes affordable housing projects for veterans, considering the interests of Bumiputera communities in the Federal Territories, as well as the provision of parks and green spaces that can be enjoyed by all residents in the Klang Valley.
In the meantime, the director of real estate at the Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Najib Razali described the RM100mil allocation for maintaining low- and medium-cost public and private strata housing projects, as a community-oriented measure that focused on the needs of the people.
"Our country is ‘rich’ in strata housing, but the most common issue is inconsistent maintenance of these buildings, which makes them look worn out and outdated. Every strata housing needs to be well-maintained to ensure that residents can enjoy the best possible quality of life,” he said.
Meanwhile, National House Buyers Association (HBA) secretary-general Datuk Chang Kim Loong said the association lauds the special guarantee fund of RM1bil to encourage developers to revive abandoned projects.
"It is hoped that with this grant, the developers can revive the abandoned projects without requiring the existing house buyers to pay large sums of monies as most of these house buyers of abandoned projects already suffered financial losses and may not be able to come up with large sums of monies to revive their project,” he said.
He said HBA suggested that the guarantee fund be monitored by the Finance Ministry with an intelligent team undertaking the selection process of responsible housing developers, reputed contractors or builders and white knights who have proven track records and good financial standing.
"The government cannot afford to have the ‘abandoned projects’ abandoned again by errant salvagers. The government must ‘select the low laying fruits’ such as those abandoned projects which are near finishing to undertake revival processes with maximum result and with such government-guaranteed funds,” he said in a statement. - Bernama
