JOHOR BAHARU: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin yesterday announced an interest-free housing loan Scheme for the civil servants in the state.
He said the scheme will take effect on March 1, 2014.
Before this, civil servants in the state have to pay four per cent interest.
Khaled said civil servants still having a balance, which is being deducted from their monthly salary, the new balance will be reflected in April or May.
The new payment`schedule under this scheme will start in May or June, he said after giving his first briefing on the scheme to some 1,500 civil servants in Kota Iskandar yesterday.
Khaled said the government was been always innovative in tackling the people’s problems and “most importantly, all these innovations are contributed by the civil servants themselves.”
Johor has a closed civil service, which means state government employees cannot be transferred to outside the state.
Khaled said among the salient point in Budget 2014 was that the government understood the importance of helping to reduce the cost of living.
“Measures such as launching more affordable housing projects are timely. This means the government cannot just let the market forces determine house prices,” he said.
Khaled said opening more Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia country-wide would enable the people to buy essential goods at lower prices.
“If implemented effectively, it will help ease the people’s burden,” he added. — Bernama