Affordable
homes
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AUGUST 8, 2014
>Stimulating the economyby facilitatinghomeownership
T
HE
Malaysianhousing industry
has alsoevolvedover time.
Pursuedby rising costs and
inflation, demandhas increased
for affordablehousing and residential
estateswhichcater tomiddle and lower-
income families. The government is
driving selecteddevelopers to address
this issue. For affordablehousingwill
also improve the commonman’s
lifestyle, ultimately stimulating the
national economy.
PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT
Low-cost housingwas available since
the implementationof theFirstMalaysia
Plan (1966-1970). Therehavebeenmany
housingpolicies andplans established–
pre andpost independence.While in the
earlyyears, themainconcernwas to
simply
provide cheaphousing as a
basic social need
,manyhousing and
economicpolicies havebeendrawnup
since, eachconceivedona varietyof
different rationales andprinciples.
TheNationalHousingPolicy (NHP)
was launched inFeb 2011. Itwas
established inaccordancewith the
directionof the 10thMalaysiaPlan
(10MP). TheNHPcomes under the
purviewof theMinistryofHousing and
Local Government (MHLG). Its goal is
toprovide
adequate, comfortable,
qualityandaffordablehousing to
enhance the sustainabilityof the
qualityof lifeof thepeople
.
The keyobjectives of theNHPare:
• toprovide adequate andqualityhousingwith
comprehensive facilities anda conducive
environment;
• toenhance the capability andaccessibilityof
thepeople toownor rent houses; and
• toestablish futuredirection toensure the
sustainabilityof thehousing sector.
Tohelpachieve theseobjectives, six thrusts
were formulated:
Thrust 1
: ProvisionofAdequateHousing
Basedon the SpecificNeeds ofTargetGroups
Thrust 2
: Improving theQuality and
ProductivityofHousingDevelopment
Thrust 3
: Increasing theEffectiveness of
ImplementationandEnsuringComplianceof
theHousingServiceDeliverySystem
Thrust 4
: Improving theCapabilityof the
People toOwnandRentHouses
Thrust 5
: Sustainabilityof theHousing
Sector
Thrust 6
: Enhancing theLevel of
Social Amenities, Basic Services and
LiveableEnvironment.
The government has introduced several
strategies andprogrammes toencouragehome
ownershipacross the spectrumof income
brackets and societal segments.
PART1
LOW-COST
HOUSING
Therearea few
government
adoptedschemes
thathavebeen
establishedto
accommodate the
needfor low-cost
houses.Onesuch,
in linewiththe 10th
MalaysiaPlan, is the
People’sHousing
Programme
(PPR)
.This scheme
cateredtoprovide
low-costhomesbuiltby
theMHLG.These
residenceswereabout 700sf and
consistedof threebedroomsandtwo
baths, akitchen, tiledfloorsandan
area fordryingclothes. Facilities such
ascommunityhalls, children’s
playgrounds, kindergartens, shops,
stalls, surausandotherpublicplaces
for residents toenjoyenhancedand
healthy livingwere included inthe
area.Under thisprogramme, 65
housingprojectsweredelivered, for
saleand/or rent, throughout the
nation, rightuptoSabahandSarawak.
Thesehomeswerecateredto families
earning less thanRM2,500amonth.
Theywerebuilt
mainlytoprovide
squatterswithpermanenthomes
thatweremorecomfortable,
relaxedand inahealthier
environment, andtoraise the level of
Malaysiansociety in linewiththe
government’svision2020
.
Since2010, thegovernmenthasbeenurging
theprivatesector tobuildmore
lowand low/medium-costhomes to
accommodate lower-incomegroups. It aims to
provideMalaysiansof all income levels the
abilitytoownahome, apart from
enhancing the lifestylesof theurban
population
.Apress statement releasedby the
NationalHousingDepartment (Jabatan
PerumahanNegara -JPN)under theMinistryof
UrbanWellbeing,HousingandLocal
Government (KementerianKesejahteraan
Bandar, PerumahandanKerajaanTempatan)
reportedthat theMyHomeScheme launchedon
Apr 1, 2014has sincereceived51,859applications
requesting for low-costhouses inthese areas:
Today, the criteria for eligibility in owning
or renting a low-cost house have been revised
in accordance with the growing economy and
advanced times. Followour column in the
coming weeks about the various affordable
home schemes and programmes available.
DID YOU KNOW
Under the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), the National Key Results
Areas (NKRA) intends to “raise living standards of low-income households” and
“improve rural basic infrastructure”. Drastic steps have been executed to overcome
housing problems, especially for the poor and ultra-poor.
These include:
(i) Providing assistance to increase house ownership by offering 44,000 units of existing
low-cost houses for sale or rent through the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the
National Housing Department (JPN);
(ii) Providing 50,000 units of new and rehabilitated houses for the urban poor and
hardcore poor by 2012, two-thirds of which will be in Sabah and Sarawak;
(iii) Ensuring only eligible recipients receive housing aid. Recipients are identified by
district or state agencies through the e-Kasih portal, which is a national database for
capturing data on low-income households; and
(iv) Offering financial assistance for initial deposits, legal fees and low-interest loans for
the low-income households who are not recipients of or do not purchase public low-
cost houses.
GOVERNMENT EFFORT
An excerpt from the NHP states that:
Housing is a basic need and in line with
“shelter for all”, the government will strive
to ensure that every person can own or rent a
house. Nevertheless, housing needs for the
low-income group, who earn amonthly
household income of less than RM2,500 are
still not adequate. Hence, the government and
the private sector need to continue providing
affordable houses for sale or rental, especially
for the low-income group, and also the
disabled, senior citizens and singlemothers.
The private sector is also encouraged to
developmedium-cost houses to fulfill the
needs of themiddle-income groupwith a
monthly household income of RM2,500 to
RM3,999.
To help improve the ability of the people
to own or rent a house, the government has
outlined three policy statements in the NHP.
• 4.1 – Setting prices for low-cost houses as
well as controlling ownership and sales
to avoid speculation;
• 4.2 – setting a realistic rental rate for low-
cost houses; and
• 4.3 – providing financial support for the
low-income group in order to
own houses.
STATE
AREA
Selangor
ShahAlam, PetalingJaya, Klang, AmpangandKajang
PulauPinang
Georgetown, Jelutong, BukitMertajam, BayanLepas andBayanBaru
WilayahPersekutuan KualaLumpur andPutrajaya
Kedah
Alor Setar, Sungai Petani andKulim
Johor
JohorBahru, Skudai, PasirGudang,GelangPatahandMuar
[Retrieved fromNational Housing Policy (NHP)]
