Deputy DG: Real estate stakeholders need to collaborate

KUALA LUMPUR: Real estate stakeholders – federal, states, local governments, developers, financial institutions as well as society – need to collaborate for the benefits of the rakyat in providing affordability and facility- accessibility properties in Malaysia.

Deputy director- general of the National Housing Department, Jayaselan Navaratnam, said the government was also looking at the daunting task of streamlining property regulations in one-anda-half years.

“In anything we work on, when the powers are different parties, collaborations are important as well as the need for give and take,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Khazanah Research Institute’s (KRI) public talk.

The talk, ‘ Housing as Habitat: A case of market failure or

In anything we work on, when the powers are different parties, collaborations are important as well as the need for give and take.

institutional limitation?’ provides a critical reflection on the role of housing in cities and how players in the industry can make housing better.

The talk featured a keynote lecture by Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research director Professor Michael Oxley.

The keynote lecture was followed by a panel dialogue during which participants were able to pose their questions for discussion.

The panel speakers comprised deputy director general, National Housing Department, Malaysia, Jayaselan Navaratnam, Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia president, Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor, and Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning and Human Settlements, secretary general, Norliza Hashim.

Over 200 participants attended the event and had the opportunity to enhance their understanding on the developments within the housing industry.

KRI, sponsored by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, is a not- for-profit organisation and is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. — Bernama

Jayaselan Navaratnam, deputy director-general of the National Housing Department