KUALA LUMPUR: Members of the Malaysian Youth Parliament yesterday urged the government to build more affordable homes nationwide to ensure the young can own homes.
Penang representative Mohd Hilmi Elias said the suggestion was based on the fear of youths in the country that they would suffer the same fate as the people of Kampung Mutiara, Penang who were evicted from their land and homes.
“The decision of Penang not to build affordable homes make it more difficult for youths to own homes in the state. We must use Penang as an example, if we don’t build more affordable homes now, I fear the young in the future will not have the chance to own homes,” he said.
He said this when debating on the motion by a representative from Perak, Ahmad Fadzil Ahmad Shuhaili (Socio Economic Committee) on the affordable home mechanism at the Youth Parliament Sitting here yesterday.
The Kampung Mutiara polemic in Batu Feringghi ended yesterday when the Putrajaya Appeals Court rejected the appeal of 350 residents to set aside the decision of the Penang High Court in 2012 which ordered them to vacate two 1.4 ha land lots in the village.
The capability of youths to own affordable homes was among the topics of debates at the Malaysian Youth Parliament which sat for two days starting yesterday at the Dewan Rakyat, here. Three other motions which would be debated were on measures to combat drug abuse among youths, the level of nursery/kindergarten services and ways for graduates to cope with the cost of living.
The conference, which started at 10 am was chaired by Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Ismail Mohamed Said.
The summary of the two-day debate would be tabled before the Cabinet for consideration. In the meantime, the representative for Terangganu, Alif Rosli, when debating the same motion, suggested that the government cooperated with Government Linked Companies (GLC) to build more affordable homes.
“The government can collaborate with GLC … between Felda and Kumpulan Gamuda Bhd including doing away with land premium if there are GLCs which are willing to change the status of their land for housing purposes. Doing away with the premium can reduce the cost of constructing affordable houses,” he said.
Selangor representative, Mohd Azfar Ariff Mohd Farid said the government must reduce bureaucracy in the process of applying for loans to facilitate the young in the country to own homes.
The bank must create a special loan scheme for the young to buy houses. In fact, the government must be more transparent to promote house schemes and reduce bureaucracy such as imposing numerous conditions for housing loan applications, he said. — Bernama