Minister Noh Omar said the proposal was aimed at protecting the interest of local house buyers, as well as to control property ownership by foreigners.
As such, he said the proposal would then only allow the foreigners to buy properties worth more than RM1 million in this country.
“Right now, foreigners who buy houses costing more than RM1 million do so in ringgit, but because the exchange rate of our currency changes quiet frequently, we recommend that the price is quoted in US dollars.
“We will propose this to the Cabinet for an in-depth study,” he told reporters after a working visit to Simpang Pertang here, yesterday.
About a newspaper report that the Penang government was lowering the selling price of houses costing RM1 million to RM800,000, for foreigners, Noh said if the report was true, it would conflict with the policy of the Federal government.
“I urge the state government to review the matter because it is against the policy of the Federal government, which states that only houses priced at more than RM1 million can be sold to foreigners.
“If the price is less than that, the state government and the developer must obtain permission from the ministry,” he said.
Earlier, Noh at a press conference also announced an allocation of RM3 million for the construction of seven small projects in Jelebu, including a community hall, hawker stalls and a bus station.