Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong proposed that the Johor Housing Development Corporation (PKPJ) formulate policies that ensured Johoreans had access to decent homes instead of just focusing on home ownership.

In a statement, the state opposition leader said shifting the focus to rentals would need to be supported by laws and regulations to protect both owners and tenants.

Liew said encouraging renting as a housing norm would prevent “fire sale” of houses, especially in cases where owners were unable to pay their instalments if interest rates were raised.

The Perling assemblyman pointed out that Johor Bahru was experiencing “a massive housing glut” as demand for affordable homes was ignored by developers in favour of high-end development projects.

“There are many who need housing, especially the B40 and even M40, because over the years developers have chosen to build high-end houses instead of affordable ones.”

Pointing out that Malaysia’s household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio was one of the highest in the region, he said giving out housing loans to those who were already highly indebted would eventually lead to a banking crisis.

He stated that Bank Negara Malaysia’s 2021 report showed that 65% of borrowers already had car or personal loans.

Liew also noted that building houses in the current global economic situation would be more costly and time-consuming, considering worldwide supply chain disruptions affecting the cost of materials.