Govt will study Selangor housing plan, says Ong
The Sun 13/4/2004
PONTIAN: The federal government will study the Selangor government's
plan to sell low cost houses to all groups, including the rich,
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said
yesterday.
He said his ministry will do a 'thorough study of the plan, which
was announced by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo on
Sunday.
"I'll look into the details of the plan because the federal
government has a policy on low cost house ownership," he told
reporters after giving cash assistance to poor families in Pekan
Nanas.
Under the federal government's policy, only those
who cannot afford to buy high or medium-cost houses will be allowed
to own low-cost homes.
State governments have their own policies on
low-cost house construction and ownership but those policies must
not contradict the federal government's rules.
Ong said it is the federal government's plan to
distribute low-cost houses directly to low- income earners to enable
them to have homes of their own.
"If rich people buy low-cost houses, it will be
very glaring don't see the logic," he said.
"If rich people buy the houses and rent them out
to the poor, they will want to make a profit, so we need to be
careful."
Khir had said the Selangor government will allow
the rich to buy low-cost houses and rent them out to the poor to
help housing developers reduce losses as there is an overhang of
100,000 units in the state.
Under the plan, the state government will lift the
curb on the purchase of low-cost houses "to allow middle- and
high-income v earners to own them and rent" them out to people who
cannot afford them. Mustaza Mohamad, the chairman of the Real Estate
and lousing Developers Association of Selangor, welcomed Khir's
proposal.
"He is creating new demand for developers, and can
help people in transit. There is a glut of low-cost housing because
people don't want the stigma of staying in a low-cost house,"
Mustaza said.
"However; there is a market for people in transit
- those who want to stay in a low-cost house for a short time until
they can afford a better place."
State urged to relax rules for buying low-cost houses
PETALING JAYA: The Selangor and Federal Territory Consumers
Association pro posed yesterday that the rules for buying low-cost
houses in Selangor be relaxed.
"Right now, many poor people do not have a chance
to buy low-cost houses because the conditions are too strict," said
its president, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman.
The conditions include a stipulation that the
buyer must be Selangor-born, have a family and earn less than RMl,
500 a month.
He suggested that eligibility to buy such houses be open to all
Malaysians, including those who are unmarried, and that the ceil in
household income be raised.
House
Buyers Association secretary Chang Kim Loong suggested that
the ceiling be raised so that those earning between RM2, 000 and
RM2, 500 a month can buy them.
Alternatively; the state government can buy the
houses and rent them out.
He said the large number of low-cost units should
also be considered. If there continues to be no demand for them, the
state should do away with meeting a quota so that developers can
save costs.
Selangor DAP organizing secretary John Chung, who
said the state government's plan contradicts the purpose of low-cost
housing, urged it to examine the reasons behind the poor sales of
low-cost houses.
He said the price range of
RM35,000 to RM42,000 a unit is too high for, the very poor. |
