THE Penang government has set a target of building 180,000 low-cost, low-medium cost and affordable homes by 2030
State Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh said the new target was revised from 76,000 such housing units by 2025 to 180,000 by 2030 following a seminar on ‘Plans forward Penang2030’ organised by Plan Malaysia @ Pulau Pinang and the Housing and Local Government Division on Sunday.
“The important thing is to cater to the rising population of Penang and the housing needs come 2030. Now with Penang2030 vision, we have to adjust our planning,” Jagdeep told a press conference after the handing-over key ceremony at Ideal Property Group I-Santorini project in Tanjung Pinang today.
“In our earlier GE14 manifesto, we targeted to build 76,000 affordable housing units by 2025. But we have already surpassed the target with 102,000 units from units that had been built, being built and approved to be built.
“Although we have exceeded the target, we need to ensure adequate stock for Penangites and that includes having low-cost, low medium-cost and affordable homes.
“Out of the 180,000 units, we have 78,000 to go. We believe that this can be achieved because planning permission is always ongoing, which shows that we are still very healthy.”
Jagdeep assured that the state government would maintain the price of a low-cost unit at RM42,000 and a low medium-cost unit at RM72,500 and an affordable home at below RM300,000, even though some other states might have set the price of a low-cost unit at RM60,000 and a low medium-cost unit at RM100,000.
He recalled that the state government had reduced the prices of affordable homes from RM500,000 and below to RM400,000 and below and then to RM300,000 and below to make it “more affordable” to first-time house buyers.
Jagdeep said the Penang government strongly supports the recent move by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to ease eligibility criteria for its RM1 billion fund for affordable homes for first-time house buyers.
BNM Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus had announced on Wednesday that the central bank would expand the fund’s eligibility criteria in which the maximum monthly household income would be increased to RM4,360 from RM2,300 and the maximum property price to RM300,000 from RM150,000.
This enhancement will take effect on Sept 1 this year.
Jagdeep urged BNM to come out with a national policy for commercial banks to follow so that there would not be a high loan rejection rate.
“Now, six to seven applicants out of 10 have their bank loans rejected. This high loan rejection rate has haunted us all this while,” he said.
“Some of the banks have quotas. By February or March, their quotas are over. They are not tied up with any policy at the moment. I never agree with this terrible word called quota.
“The new national fund’s eligibility criteria will help more people to be eligible for loans.”
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis