100,000 homes to be built for Malaysian civil servants
The Star/Asia News Network
Monday, Jul 08, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 100,000 houses will be built under the 1Malaysia Civil Servants' Housing Programme (PPA1M) nationwide, says Chief Secretary Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa.
He said besides Putrajaya, the Government would identify strategic locations, including in Sabah and Sarawak, to expand the programme.
"The project will be implemented once it is approved by the relevant authorities," he said after opening the Parent-Teacher Association Carnival and new facilities at SMK Damansara Utama here yesterday.
Ali was commenting on a call from Cuepacs to the federal and state governments to provide medium-cost houses, priced at RM250,000 (S$100,430) and below, for civil servants.
Ali said the first phase of the PPA1M, involving the construction of 10,366 houses, was launched in Putrajaya by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in April.
PPA1M provides public housing with floor areas between 93 and 139 sq metres at prices ranging from RM150,000 to RM300,000.
Meanwhile, Ali said the Putrajaya PPA1M had received 105,000 applications to date. Successful buyers are to only pay for the houses when these have been completed, and not while work is still in progress.
Commenting on PPA1M, Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman said the houses should be completed between three and five years.
"Otherwise, they will face critical housing woes due to rising house prices and rental," he said. "And, imagine if you've got the opportunity to own a house only when you're 40, and your salary will be deducted until you retire."
In Kota Kinabalu, Sabah's property developers said they were constructing about 10,000 affordable homes between now and 2018.
Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) president Francis Goh said the homes were part of 22 projects undertaken by the association's members statewide.
The association was aware that those with a monthly income of about RM2,500 faced difficulties in buying houses. "The average price in the region is more than RM350,000 a unit," said Goh.
He said Shareda viewed the commitment as fulfilling its corporate social responsibility rather than for profits, although it might face issues like marketing risks over such projects.
In view of such risks, Goh suggested that all affordable home providers, both from the private and public sectors, should group together and plan their approach as a team.
"In this way, the players would know what projects, how many units and where they were to be built to avoid market competition and standardise the necessary guidelines and market needs," he said.
