Abang Johari (third left) receiving a plaque from Ahmad (third right) while (from left) Hasidah, Fadillah, Dr Abang Abdul Rauf and Dr Abdul Rahman look on.
KUCHING: The state government has to intervene in the market forces to ensure that the houses in the state continue to be affordable to the people, said Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Abang Johari, who is also Tourism Minister said that was why his ministry announced a new policy: ‘Sarawak Affordable Housing Policy and Design Guidelines’ last week, after negotiating the matter with Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem.
“I, together with my colleagues from the Housing Ministry came out with this policy and we have capped the price (of affordable houses) to RM250,000.
“If the developer cannot do it, the government will do it for the people,” he said when launching Sg Midin Rumah Mesra Rakyat 1Malaysia (RMR1M) project here yesterday.
Abang Johari, who is Satok assemblyman, said the state government had no choice but to intervene in the market forces for housing because the price of houses in the state had skyrocketed to the extent that they became unaffordable for many.
“Those with income of between RM3,000 and RM5,000 find it hard to own a house now because they are not eligible to buy houses under the ‘Rumah Mesra Rakyat’ or other affordable housing.
“Because of that, they only can buy terraced house but the prices in Kuching now are about RM500,000 and RM600,000 in Samarahan. With a salary of between RM3,000 to RM5,000 or even those with income of RM5,000 to RM7,000, how are these people going to own a house when the price of house is so high?”
Abang Johari said under the new policy, the state government would also be introducing a category to enable those with the income of between RM3,000 and RM7,000 to own a house that were affordable to them.
“After launching the 448 units of affordable housing project in Matang last week, we will be launching another affordable housing project next week. With the joint effort from all government agencies, we will continue to supply affordable houses to the market.”
He also announced that the government would be developing about 400 units of affordable housing at Jalan Sultan Tengah here and 200 units at Jalan Matang under the ‘Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR).
As the government understood that obtaining loan from banks could be a problem for the house buyers with no salary slips, Abang Johari said the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) would be able to provide loans through Mutiara Mortgage and Finance.
“HDC will have land bank. We have a few lands in the city where we will also build affordable housing including medium cost housing for those with medium income.”
On the RM8 million Sg Midin RMR1M project which begins construction next month, he said its development would be divided into two phases, with the first phase comprising 52 units and another 50 units to be constructed under the second phase.
He assured that the government would transform the residential settlements in Sg Midin into a modern residential area.
Todate a total of 3,743 applications have been received for RMR1M housing in the state. Of the number, 929 applications have been approved.
Among those present were Works Minister and Petra Jaya MP Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi, Samariang assemblywoman Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, HDC chairman Datuk Dr Abang Abdul Rauf Abang Zen and Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd director Datuk Seri Ahmad Kabit.