Elective choice
10/10/2005
NST By Datuk Francis Lee, Ipoh
THERE has been much discussion on the adoption of the "Build then Sell"
concept, or the 10/90 variant, to resolve the woes confronting a small
percentage of housebuyers.
In the course of this debate, due appreciation has not been accorded to the
minister and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government for tightening the
law governing housing development in December 2002, which was primarily
focused to further protect the interest of buyers.
There is a great need to study the implications of the BTS concept closely
from a national perspective and assess the implications for developers.
In one scenario, developers would either downsize their plans or depart the
industry and mobilise their capital into more lucrative areas of investment.
Effectively, the delivery of houses by the private sector will shrink.
There must be contingency provision for the public sector to augment the
private sector’s shortfall of delivery, to ensure that the provision of
affordable housing to all Malaysians is not compromised.
There is also a need to assess the possible impact of the BTS concept on the
less developed States. With a national urbanisation rate of 66.9 per cent in
2005, the BTS concept will not favour housing development in the laggard
states of Negri Sembilan, Perak, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang and Perlis.
In view of the higher financial risk in the development of areas of low
demand, the provision of affordable housing and home ownership in rural
areas will be similarly compromised.
The national and individual state agendas cannot be forsaken or compromised
for the sake of a minority. The ultimate solution would be to allow the BTS
concept and the SB concept to be an elective choice to both developers and
buyers. |