The association’s secretary-general, Chang Kim Loong, said the government should take care of the needs of those who could not afford to pay more than RM1,000 a month in rent and to worry less about people who could.

Chang was commenting on a parliamentary written reply in which the housing and local government ministry said the Cabinet was reviewing the preliminary draft of the RTA.

The RTA, which is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat next year, aims to protect both tenants and landlords.

The proposals include preventing landlords from evicting tenants without a solid reason, raising rents to exorbitant levels and practising racial discrimination in the choice of tenants.

Chang told FMT his association could come up with a standard agreement template if the government’s main purpose was to protect poor tenants of small flats and apartments.

He noted that the government was seeking to control all tenancies under the RTA and said: “We told the government it cannot control everything because it would stifle the entire rental industry. We told it not to bite off more than it can chew.”

He said his proposed agreement template could fix the deposit to be paid at two months and rental advance at one month.

“But people renting units in excess of RM1,000 don’t need to fall under the RTA because they can afford to have lawyers to handle their cases,” he said.