Warisan says will protect housebuyers from unscrupulous speculators

PENAMPANG: Parti Warisan Sabah said it will protect housebuyers from unscrupulous speculators who exploit the Sabah property market by depriving genuine buyers of low- and middlecost houses.

Its deputy president, Darell Leiking, said it was crucial to have a mechanism to prevent this trend which exacerbated the shortage of affordable houses in Sabah, particularly within the Greater Kota Kinabalu area.

He said this in a statement that was issued to unveil the party’s aim to overcome the housing shortage problem in Sabah.

“Affordable housing has always been on the top list of issues for Warisan and I believe that when Sabahans have safe, comfortable and affordable homes they will be able to increase their productivity which in turn, will benefit their employers and the State.

“I don’t think that it is right for our younger generation to continue working like machines in order for them to service their monthly PTPTN and car loans while being overwhelmed by the effect of inflation. This denies them the opportunity as Sabahans to own a comfortable and safe home for their families,” he said.

Leiking was commenting on the warning issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) that Malaysia faced a shortage of affordable houses for the masses with data confirming that houses in the country were “seriously unaffordable” in 2016 by international standards.

BNM estimated the maximum price of affordable houses in the country to be RM282,000 based on the housing cost burden approach.

It also outlined three factors contributing to housing unaffordability in Malaysia - mismatch between supply and demand for housing, new launches skewed towards the unaffordable range, and growth in house prices outpacing that of household income.

“I think those aged between 25 to 40 years old who have a combined salary of at least RM3,500 would find it very difficult to acquire a house particularly within Greater Kota Kinabalu, because of the price range between RM450,000 and RM600,000,” said Leiking who contended that the issue has to be approached from various angles.

“You cannot expect to solve this issue by merely allocating RM1 billion or RM2 billion the way the BN government always does because if you do, then you will still face the same situation year after year.

“First and foremost, Greater Kota Kinabalu needs proper planning or zoning and the State Government needs to upgrade infrastructure within the area. It is not enough to just have the much talked about Pan-Borneo Highway. There must be integrated feeder roads, an effective drainage system and efficient public transportation,” he said.

He added that the State Government also needs to have its own financial institution and credit guarantee corporation to enable low- and middle-income Sabahans acquire houses in view that commercial banks in the country are now adopting stringent policies when processing housing loan applications.

“Warisan is optimistic that the party can overcome this issue because its leaders have been very consistent on matter of affordable housing in Sabah.

“If the BN-led State Government is serious in overcoming this problem, it would have to set up a special committee comprising stakeholders such as town planners, SLA, Cuepacs, KWSP, etc, the way they do for other issues in Sabah.

“But one can only guess why for the past five years, the State Government is non-committal when it concerns this problem. The excuses that we always hear from the BN State leaders are that the Federal Government has allocated billions of ringgit to overcome this problem and that the price of houses in Greater Kota Kinabalu is determined by the market,” he