Ali shakes hand with Faris H. Hadad-Zervos of World Bank Malaysia upon receiving the new World Bank Report at Bank Negara Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. —Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: Government employees taking housing loans under the Public Sector Housing Financing Board are to be allowed flexibility in repayments instead of having to be constrained by the condition that their take-home pay must be at least 40 per cent of their monthly salary.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa said the government sees housing as a basic need of the people, and feels that there should be flexibility in the loan applications.
He said the existing circular provided for a maximum deduction of up to 60 per cent of the monthly salary of government employees, with their take-home pay making up the remaining 40 per cent.
“But, in this case, we are providing housing for civil servants, that is the PPA1M (1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing Project) programme, so we have asked the unit in charge of loans for civil servants under the Treasury to be a little bit more flexible.
“When they reach the 60 per cent (maximum deduction) level, they can’t borrow for housing. So, we said, for housing they are to be given an exemption,” he told reporters after receiving the new World Bank Report on ‘Enhancing Public Sector Performance: Malaysia’s Experience with Transforming Land Administration’, here, yesterday.
The new circular on the flexibility was shared on Ali’s Facebook account yesterday.
Asked whether the move would bloat the applicants’ debt, Ali said housing and other household debts should not be put under the same category.
“In this case, we feel that housing is a priority for civil servants; we would like to see every civil servant own a house … we don’t want the loan to be an obstacle. This is just to encourage the civil servants to own a home,” he said. — Bernama