Build and sell: PAC unhappy with response
The Sun 31/08/2005 By: B. Suresh Ram

KUALA LUMPUR: It has been 15 months since the prime minister mooted the build-and-sell model for the housing industry.

On Tuesday, Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) gave its report card on this, and there were red marks all over.

PAC chairman Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said: "It has been more than one year since the prime minister broached the concept on May 2, 2004, and nothing has been done about it."

He told reporters after a PAC meeting here the committee had met with officials from the Housing and Local Government Ministry, Bank Negara, Association of Banks, and Real Estate and Housing Developers Association on Monday to obtain feedback.

"We are not so happy with the ministry's approach on the matter ... too defensive ... too supportive of house builders and developers," he said.

He said the explanation of the ministry officials that houses would be costlier if they were sold under this concept did not hold water.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had suggested the build-and-sell concept to reduce the number of abandoned housing projects.

The concept is not new in this country, as some cash-rich developers have, in the past, opted for the scheme. In a number of countries, it is a norm to sell houses after they have been completed.

Shahrir said the Association of Banks is agreeable to this concept and, as such, he is puzzled with the ministry's stand on the matter.

He said the concept should be the only one used in the near future, instead of it being parallel to the existing scheme.

Shahrir said if the housing developers find it difficult to survive under the concept, they should look for greener pastures in other industries.