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Sarawak To Build Affordable Housing For The Poor, Proposed Labuan-Menumbok Bridge Project May Involve Land Swap And, More

Sarawak To Build Affordable Housing For The Poor, Proposed Labuan-Menumbok Bridge Project May Involve Land Swap And, More
Sarawak To Build Affordable Housing For The Poor, Proposed Labuan-Menumbok Bridge Project May Involve Land Swap And, More

18th October – 25th October

The state government of Sarawak plans to build 2,391 units of affordable homes under the Rumah Spektra Permata initiative of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to help low-income families get up the property ladder.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the proposed Labuan-Menumbok bridge project was never withdrawn, and that it may involve land swap.

 

1) Sarawak to build affordable housing for the poor

The state government of Sarawak plans to build 2,391 units of affordable homes under the Rumah Spektra Permata initiative of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to help low-income families get up the property ladder.

Introduced under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025), the programme will involve units priced from RM90,000 to RM160,000, reported The Star.

To facilitate loans for homebuyers, the state will work with HDC’s subsidiary, Mutiara Mortgage & Credit Sdn Bhd, said Michael Tiang, Sarawak’s Deputy Public Health and Housing Minister.

The scheme will see the government provide a maximum deposit of RM10,000 or 10% of the housing unit’s value to eligible recipients.

Tiang noted that the state government of Sarawak is “committed to providing affordable homes for the lower-income group (B40) and the middle-income group (M40) through the village expansion scheme (SPK) as well as the Affordable Housing Scheme (RMM) that has been implemented in Darul Hans (Kuching), Kampung Kapit Batu (Kapit) and Kampung Datu Baru (Sibu)”.

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2) Proposed Labuan-Menumbok bridge project may involve land swap

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the proposed Labuan-Menumbok bridge project was never withdrawn, noting that it had been discussed for several times at the Cabinet level.

In fact, it had been agreed that the project should continue two or three weeks prior to the dissolution of the Parliament, with only the formula on how it would be implemented requiring deliberation.

And with the bridge project costing a lot, he believes the federal government would face difficulty in allocating a high budget, reported Bernama.

“Perhaps the implementation of a private finance initiative (PFI) involving the private sector (would be more feasible), but it needs to be discussed comprehensively because it may involve a land swap,” said Ismail.

“If it involves a land swap, it would involve a large chunk of land, maybe half of the land on the island of Labuan,” he added.

 

3) Small-time contractors to benefit also from RM95bil development expenditure

Concept of construction and design. 3d render of blueprints and
Concept of construction and design. 3d render of blueprints and

Caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dismissed claims that only tycoons and conglomerates would benefit from the RM95 billion allocation for development expenditure under Budget 2023.

He assured that adequate opportunities would be given to qualified local contractors to carry out development projects, reported Free Malaysia Today.

Moreover, major projects such as the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) would generate tens of thousands of jobs for small-time contractors and Malaysians.

“Of the RM95 billion, RM3 billion is for rural development. It’s not just big projects, but also small projects like the construction of roads in rural areas, infrastructure for electricity and water supply, and so on,” said Ismail.

“The opposition’s claims are not true, because the RM95 billion would also benefit small-time contractors in the G1 to G4 categories.”

However, he explained that the initiatives would “only be enjoyed if Budget 2023 is retabled and passed after the 15th general election (GE15)”.

 

4) Worldwide Holding’s public housing project bags QLASSIC award

Seri Musytari Apartment, a public housing project by Worldwide Holdings Bhd (WHB), has been conferred a QLASSIC (Quality Assessment System in Construction) Award.

QLASSIC is a system or method aimed at measuring and evaluating “the workmanship quality of a building construction work based on Construction Industry Standard”, reported the New Straits Times.

Located in Subang Bestari, Seri Musytari Apartment project occupies a 0.81-hectare site, featuring 168 Rumah Selangorku apartment units.

Datin Paduka Norazlina Zakaria, Group Chief Executive Officer of WHB, said the award is a demonstration of the company’s commitment to improve Malaysian’s quality of life, especially within the Selangor region.

“(This) is regardless of whether the project is developed to meet the government’s agenda such as Rumah Selangorku scheme or for the free market. WHB’s outstanding achievement in this category is also in line with CIDB Malaysia’s aspirations towards making more high-quality affordable housing since the QLASSIC assessment is mandatory for all public and private housing projects in Malaysia from 2020,” she said.

 

5) Several police reports filed against Bukit Dinding developer

Wangsa Maju residents have filed several police reports against real estate company Nova Pesona Sdn Bhd, in a bid to stop development on the slopes of Bukit Dinding due to safety concerns.

Notably, Nova Pesona plans to build over a thousand of luxury condominium units and villas at the foot of Bukit Dinding, a popular but landslide-prone trekking spot.

In one of the reports, residents claim the company has misled the public on how homeowners felt about the project, reported Malay Mail.

They noted that all resident association within Wangsa Maju and neighbouring district Setiawangsa are against any development on Bukit Dinding.

Residents revealed that the company also knowingly shared important technical reports that have long expired, which include an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report that was dated 2017.

Izaidi Md Ismail, a 61-year-old resident from Section 5 Wangsa Maju, said making the reports public is crucial as it provides residents the opportunity to independently audit them.

 

6) Public more concerned of rising interest rates than GE15

The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (REHDA) believes rising interest rates as well as pressing issues relating to the property market loom larger on the public’s minds than the upcoming general election (GE15).

This comes as people will always need a house, regardless of which coalition forms the government following GE15, said REHDA President Datuk Tong Nguen Khoong.

He noted that while the economy is going up during the first half of 2022 – when people started coming out of their homes to do revenge shopping and travelling – the property industry “is not really taking off as it requires more time due its bigger commitment”, reported The Malaysian Reserve.

Tong noted that the concern on the rising interest rates reflects the view of Bank Negara Malaysia that inflation in rising.

“Malaysia has had a very low-interest rate and it is increasing slowly. Globally, rates increase to actually control the inflation — on one hand, that may increase your end financing cost as homebuyers, but is coming off a very low base,” he explained.

“It does increase the cost of buying a house, however, it’s also recognising that inflation is coming down the pipe and therefore, property will be a good way to protect you against inflation,” added Tong.