KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional (BN) has pledged to establish a special bank to facilitate loans for affordable and low-cost houses costing RM300,000 and below, according to the coalition’s manifesto launched tonight.
The manifesto, themed “With BN for A Greater Malaysia”, also promises to end the policy of Bumiputera lot discounts for property valued at RM1 million and above, as well as tax exemptions on housing rental income.
It pledges to provide a Public Housing Assistance Scheme to assist renters who may be categorised as poor or persons with disabilities (PWDs), and to introduce a single entity to synchronise affordable housing initiatives, including the monitoring of construction work.
The manifesto pledges to rebuild people’s housing and low-cost housing that are more than 20 years old using green and modern technology.
Other pledges are:
- A special fund worth RM500 million to encourage innovation and empower Industrial Building System (IBS) entrepreneurs.
- Tax incentives or development funds to encourage banks and housing developers to offer rent-to-own schemes.
- Develop under-utilised government quarters, buildings and land for affordable housing and mixed development projects.
- Opportunities to government retirees and their children to purchase units of 1Malaysia Public Servants Housing (PPA1M) at prices ranging from RM150, 000 to RM300, 000.
- More Felda community houses, especially for the second and third generation of settlers.
- Extending stamp duty exemption period for abandoned housing projects which are being revived.
- Build more affordable and low-cost housing projects on idle Malay reserve, wakaf and baitulmal land.
- Increase capacity of Housing Assistance Programmes to restore and repair dilapidated houses in rural areas.
- Upgrade of longhouses in Sarawak, water-houses in Sabah, Orang Asli houses and estate workers housing units in the peninsula.
- Special funds for Joint Management Bodies (JMB) and Joint Management Committees (JMC) for the upgrading of strata buildings.
- Increase the claim limit under the Housing and Management Tribunal from RM50,000 to RM100,000.
- Expand government authority to revive abandoned housing projects from the current limit of RM70,000 to RM120,000. (This involves 21 abandoned projects and 2,794 units with an allocation of RM123 million.)
- Assist buyers of the 50,000 housing units that have fallen victim to unlicensed housing developers.
- KPI for construction of affordable housing projects by developers who receive government investment.
- Establish a conflict resolution tribunal to settle any disputes that involve public housing.
- National Public Housing Management Corporation to monitor and manage public housing issues.
- Welfare and wellbeing of security forces personnel.
- 1,800 housing units under the One Personnel, One House (SASaR) programme for army veterans.
- Constructing 45,000 units of ‘Rumah Keluarga Angkatan Tentera’ homes.
- Establish 1Malaysia Veteran Home Repair Programme with a target of 1,800 recipients by 2020.
- 10,000 PPA1M housing units for police personnel.
- 10,000 affordable housing units under the “One Member, One House” SASaR programme, specifically for army personnel.
- Shariah-compliant Home Sale and Purchase Agreement.