He suggested a “hire-purchase system” as one way of helping the young professionals and others in the M40 group, whose monthly income ranges from RM3,850 to RM8,320.
Launching a private development on Friday, the prime minister lauded the developer’s lease-and-purchase scheme in which buyers could rent an apartment for RM2,000 for five years and buy at the original purchase price.
“Young professionals such as lawyers, architects…graduates when they start working, they would obviously need affordable houses up to their expectations as young professionals,” he said, according to Bernama.
The housing projects should have the flexibility and affordability for the group,” he said when launching the Maju Kuala Lumpur mixed development in Sungai Besi.
He said young professionals might feel left out and neglected if their needs were not met, as they have quite good income and are self-reliant, Bernama reported.
Najib also urged private developers to help the government meet its target of one million affordable houses within five years, for those earning below RM4,000 a month.
He said the government had projects carried out by the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Corporation (500,000 units) and the 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing (100,000).
The project that Najib launched, called Maju Kuala Lumpur, comprises 4,200 units of three-room apartments of 800 square feet, built in seven 29-storey towers.
The apartments are sold at RM590,000 each. Buyers can pay a booking fee of RM1,800 for six months, and RM300 a month for the 42-month construction period, to be saved for the utility fees, legal expenses and maintenance bills, according to Star Online.
Buyers could rent the apartments at RM2,000 for five years or purchase them at the sale price of RM590,000 which would be maintained for five years after completion, the report said.
The project is expected to be completed in 2019. It includes a nine-storey podium for retail and commercial units and recreational space.
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