KUCHING: The Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda) has suggested that the government consider waiving or exempting stamp duties payable on the sale and purchase agreement to ease the burden of first-time house buyers.
It also proposed that stamp duties on banking facility agreements and subsequent memoranda of transfer be waived for the next two to three years.
“This will not only help promote house ownership but provide fresh impetus for the current sluggish economic growth and create more employment opportunities,” Sheda president Dr Christopher Ngui said.
Apart from accelerating development in rural areas, improving the connectivity and other feasible proposals, Ngui that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg had announced an allocation of RM14 million for housing development which included the financing of new and on-going construction of affordable houses.
Johari recently announced that the state government planned to build 2,500 affordable homes costing RM90,000 to RM150,000 throughout the state.
“By subsidising a third of the actual cost, the price should be reasonable and affordable for Sarawakians, especially those in the lower income group.
“Such a move really corroborates the state government’s commitment to provide affordable housing for the people,” he said.
Ngui said Sheda lauded the state government’s initiative to come up with a Sarawak version of affordable housing scheme known as Sri Pertiwi Affordable Housing to assist those in the B40 and M40 groups to own homes.
However the current stringent guidelines imposed on home financing by Bank Negara Malaysis (BNM) might hinder the government’s well-intentioned efforts since all these schemes were very much dependent on the approval of home loans.
“The state government should consider deliberating this issue with the federal government on the relaxation of loan requirement and consider extending or deferring the loan repayment amount.
“Banks should consider lending on a staggered repayment scheme where for example, the repayment amounts for the initial years are low and subsequent repayment will be on an ascending scale in line with the appreciation in value over the years and the expected higher earning power of the lender,” Ngui said.
He hoped BNM would take note of this and adjust its lending guidelines so that the property industry could grow stronger and contribute to the country’s economy and prosperity.
Ngui hoped that the state government could also consider introducing a scheme similar to the MyDeposit Scheme by the federal government in granting a substantial amount for down payment as it gave Sarawakians a choice of diverse housing range in different localities and, at the same time, eased the burden of buyers having to fork out the initial downpayment.
He said Sheda was also very much concerned about the success of Malaysia MySecond Home (MM2H) in Sarawak as the state’s policy and guidelines were not as favourable as compared to Peninsular Malaysia.
“Sheda is keen to collaborate with the tourism and housing ministries to streamline Sarawak’s policy and guidelines to be at least on par with Peninsular Malaysia in order to be competitive,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ngui said Sheda was exploring opportunities for collaboration in research and development projects in the property industry and had recently approached Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).
“We will also expand such similar collaborations with other universities, colleges and related government agencies in due course,” he said.
He said Sheda was also looking into promoting vocational training to upgrade skills and cultivate local artisans.
At the function, the Sheda Property Man of the Year 2018 was awarded to Raymond Sim Hee Pang of Yoshi Development Sdn Bhd (Nationlink Group of Companies) while Hock Seng Lee Construction Sdn Bhd received the Merit Award for Master Plan-La Promenade, Kuching.
Hock Seng Lee Cobatruction Sdn Bhd also received the Merit Award for Landed Development while Saradise Sdn Bhd received the Merit Award for Shop Offices.
Sendayan Reality Sdn Bhd received the Commended Award for Strata Development. – STEPHEN PUAH
