Revive UDA's role as a bumi-oriented developer
The Urban Development Authority's (UDA) role as a developer of low-cost residential and commercial property should be revived to enable bumiputras to buy affordable real estate, according to Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
This is because many bumiputras cannot afford to buy a retail unit or even a house in a good location.
“Maybe this is the kind of function, which had been given to UDA in the past, that we could examine,” he said during the Hari Raya open house of the Malay Chambers of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM) yesterday.
“We should look at how it can be implemented and provide the needed opportunities, especially for bumiputra entrepreneurs in the main urban centres across the country,” he added.
DPMM President Datuk Syed Ali Mohamed Al-Attas proposed the idea to renew UDA's role as a developer of affordable real estate, especially for the benefit of bumiputras.
For starters, the government can give UDA 6,000acres of land out of the 20,000 acres set aside for development in Nusajaya, to construct affordable housing.
Founded in 1971 by the government, UDA's original goal was to redevelop and repurpose derelict buildings in urban areas. It also built new townships including Bandar Baru UDA in Johor, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn in Selangor and Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur.
But in 1996, it was incorporated and renamed as UDA Holdings Sdn Bhd, before its status was changed into a public limited firm (UDA Holdings Berhad) three years later.
