Cheap homes price to stay

BAHAU: The price of low-cost houses will not be increased, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The Prime Minister said developers should not cite the increase in prices of building materials as a reason to raise the prices of the houses.

“We can’t do this ... If we allow an increase, the common man will not be able to own a house.
“Also, we do not want to do something which will create a lot of unhappiness (among people from the lower-income group),” he said after performing the ground-breaking ceremony for a Universiti Teknologi Mara campus in Kg Beting, near here.

Abdullah said developers should instead find ways to reduce their costs such as adopting new construction methods. “You can adopt the IBS (Industrialised Building System) method which can reduce your cost of doing business,” he said.

He was responding to a statement by Real Estate and Housing Developers Association deputy president Datuk Michael Yam that developers were unable to absorb the increase in prices of construction materials. The association had proposed that prices of low-cost houses and flats be increased from RM42,000 to RM60,000.

Abdullah said the IBS method was effective as developers would not have to rely heavily on skilled workers. He said if developers built houses quickly, they would also be able to service their bank loans faster.

“Pemudah has come up with recommendations that can help speed up business,” he said.
Pemudah is a public-private sector initiative which aims to simplify business operations in Malaysia by improving government services. Abdullah said it was unfair to allow an increase simply because government servants recently got a salary hike.

“They were unable to buy houses previously. If you increase the price, then the civil servants who recently got a pay increase will never be able to own a house,” he said.

(Source: The Star 24th August 2007)