Damansara Realty proposes incentives for proper facilities management

KUALA LUMPUR: Government consideration towards incentives to raise awareness and encourage proper facilities management services arising from Malaysia’s rapid urbanisation is vital, said Damansara Realty Bhd ( DBhd) yesterday.

Group chief executive officer Brian Iskandar Zulkarim said education and increasing awareness was urgently needed on the importance of proper building maintenance and management to ensure a safe as well as healthy environment for the people who use them daily.

“There has been a huge growth in Malaysia’s built environment, and these properties, whether residential, commercial or industrial, have long lifecycles.

“We hope the government will incentivise the education of asset owners to see the value of integrated facilities management (IFM) as a crucial business objective that will contribute towards the longterm appreciation and sustainability of their property,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Brian said without long-term strategic or integrated facilities management, asset owners would face problems with shortened lifespans and reduced asset values.

In addition, flexible schemes, incentives or tax relief should be introduced for property owners to provide facilities management as part of long-term sustainability which improves life cycle costs, he added. DBhd also hoped that Bank Negara Malaysia could consider easing the strict lending guideline limit for the broad property sector for developers to obtain financing for development of more affordable homes.

It added that the housing affordability issue affects the country due to the rising cost of living and urged the relaxation of stringent mortgage loan requirements, not just for first home buyers, but all potential house buyers to facilitate home ownership.

“We hope our proposals will be considered in the upcoming Budget 2018 as we believe there is huge potential in the IFM sector towards the development of Malaysia, both in terms of helping businesses achieve corporate objectives and also in the economic welfare of the country, as well as citizens,” said Brian. — Bernama