SANTUBONG: The Ministry of Housing (MOH) will assist in inspecting housing development in Sarawak to regulate the state’s housing industry.
Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said this will play a pivotal role in ensuring that minimum standards in the state’s housing industry are met.
“We will be restructuring our ministry together with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and these two agencies will work together to find a solution as well as make use of our present infrastructure to ensure they meet the standards,” he told reporters at a press conference after attending the Joint-Strategic Transformation Retreat workshop organised by MOH, HDC and Daya Builders Sdn Bhd (DBSB) here yesterday.
Also present were Housing Assistant Ministers Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah and Datuk Francis Harden Hollis as well as Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi.
On the workshop, Abang Johari said the programme, which combined the three organisations responsible for the provision of affordable housing and overall development of the state’s housing sector, was mainly to review and chart new strategic direction for MOH, HDC and DBSB in line with the expected increase in scope of work and function with the passing of the Housing Development Ordinance 2013 and HDC Ordinance (Amendments) 2013 at the last State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting.
“The programme also looked to formulate a common framework and strategic actions in the organisation’s core businesses to ensure MOH, HDC and DBSB are able to function more effectively to achieve its vision and mission, as well as examine the challenges facing the three organisations and address them in an integrated and systematic manner,” he added.
Around 62 participants from all three agencies were involved in the three-day retreat held at Damai Beach Resort.
One of the topics was strategic planning framework to develop long-term strategies that optimise organisational strengths and identify opportunities for organisations to achieve their goals.
To support the strategic plan of the three agencies, HDC and DBSB are taking steps to assess and explore new business models to sustain their operations over the long term.
The retreat also focused on examining key topics including enhancing HDC’s property management system, exploring business growth and Blue Ocean areas, examining financing models and end-financing strategies for affordable housing provision and reviewing the roles and functions of MOH, HDC and its subsidiaries.