Build-Then-Sell concept will not affect supply
15/04/2007  The Sunday Star

PETALING JAYA: The Government has assured the people that there will be enough low-cost houses.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the new Build-Then-Sell (BTS) concept would not affect the supply of low-cost houses.

“The Government has plans to ensure that its agencies will continue to build houses which are affordable, and can be bought or rented by the people,” he told a press conference at the second day of the Conference To Improve The Delivery System of Government Services: To Improve The Development Processes As Well As Property Management here yesterday.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, he said the National Housing Department, National Housing Company Bhd and other government agencies would have to ensure that sufficient low-cost houses were built.

“The Government will not forget this responsibility and it will continue to be our focus to take care of those from the low-income group.

“There will still be projects which adopt the existing STB (Sell-Then-Build) system and the system requires them to build low-cost houses.

“So there will be no problem and everything has been taken into consideration,” he said.

Ong was responding to a question on whether fewer low-cost houses would be built as developers who adopted the BTS concept would be exempted from building such houses.

“The government agencies involved will continue to build some of the low-cost houses while the private sector will continue to do its part to meet the low-cost home construction quota,” he said.

As for areas which had enough low-cost houses, he said there was demand for medium-cost houses.

“The medium-cost houses are also important to those from the low to medium-income group that needs houses that are bigger than the low-cost ones, which are only 650 square feet each,” the minister said.

Therefore, he said there would be a good mix of different types of houses being built with the implementation of the BTS system.

“We still need enough supply for those in the middle and not just low-cost and high-cost houses. In fact, (with the BTS system), we will see a more balanced situation,” he said.

On the setting-up of the inspectorate by his ministry, he said the ministry must first get the approval of the Public Service Department to appoint officers for positions in the inspectorate.

Ong said he would chair the inspectorate, as it would allow him to know the progress of the new initiatives before reporting to the Cabinet.

He said the implementation of the new initiatives to improve public delivery system was a paradigm shift and he hoped local authorities would understand that it was important to make the system a success by increasing its competitiveness.

“It is a service for the country to ensure that it can attract more foreign investment, which contributes to economic growth for the people’s benefit,” he said.

Ong said this was to ensure that the country would not be left behind when other South-East Asian countries had reduced bureaucracy and had given incentives to foreign investors.