Story by Danny Ooi
Pix by Mohd Adil Muhamad
EXCO for Town & Country Planning and Housing Jagdeep Singh has urged Bank Negara Malaysia to consider being flexible to first-time home
buyers in repaying bank loans. He said banks should lower the amount of monthly instalments for them during the first few years.
“The repayment amount can be increased subsequently after that, as the financial state of a person will improve eventually as time goes on,” he told
a press conference at the Rifle Range flats where several blocks were being repainted on April 8.
Jagdeep also suggested that the 10% deposit from the sale price of the property should either be reduced to 5% or removed entirely for first-time
buyers.
He claimed this move would help first-time buyers in Penang better compared to the First Home Deposit Funding Scheme (MyDeposit) which was
launched on April 6.
The scheme is targeted at helping the lower income group with a household income of RM10,000 and below, with a contribution of 10% from the
sale price, or maximum of RM30,000 (whichever is lower), as deposit to first-time buyers looking for homes priced below RM500,000
He added that the rejection rate on first-time housing loan applicants stands at 60%, according to the central bank.
“If this is the scenario, I don’t think it is possible for those who can’t pay even for the deposit to get the loans.
“To tackle the issue, I hope that Bank Negara can make it mandatory for commercial banks to give a good level of interest for first-time home
buyers.
“For example, the 10% deposit should be reduced to 5% or done away with completely,” he said, adding that since MyDeposit was available, he
hoped that Penangites would be given a fair chance in receiving the contribution.
On another matter, Jagdeep said the state has allocated RM1.25 million to repaint six of the nine blocks of Rifle Range flats in Air Itam.
He said three other blocks had been repainted before the last general election.
Meanwhile, Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari said he together with Kebun Bunga assemblymember Cheah Kah Peng had previously committed
to get all the nine blocks of flats in Rifle Range repainted.
“When the painting started for Blocks C and D, cracks were seen on some of the building walls.
“The problem was resolved with a RM22,048 allocation from the state government.”