Housing Quota is against 1Malaysia spirit

Sin Chew Daily, Editorial, 14 Nov 2014

Negeri Sembilan is drafting a housing policy requiring developers to build more affordable houses and also to raise Bumiputra quota from 30-50 percent. Menteri Besar Mohd Hassan said the reason for the quota increase is promote national unity.

Bumiputra housing quota is aimed at protecting the interest of the Malays. However, it is already unfair to the non-Bumiputras to keep half of the houses in an open market, what more to further raise the quota from 30-50 percent in the name of national unity. This is against Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia concept for equal status and interest of different communities.
While promoting 1Malaysia housing policy, different state governments are competing with each other to raise Bumiputra quota. This is contrary to PM’s policy and is a regression.

The state government has the prerogative of deciding housing quotas. The earlier ratio was 30 percent for Bumiputras and the rest for non-Bumiputra. The ratio has recently been changed to 50-50 in Kedah and Perak. In states like Perlis, Kelantan, and Malacca the Bumiputra quota has been raised to 70-80 percent. This has seriously hindered the housing industry.

In many states where the 30 percent Bumiputra quota is in force, developers already face difficulties in filling up the numbers. Now the state governments continue to raise the quota, ignoring the reality that some states simply cannot fulfill the quota thus hindering the sales of houses. Because of this, some developers are facing cash flow problems. Typically, developers in Malacca have been seriously affected by the slow sales of Bumiputra units.

Even though developers can apply to the state government to sell the unsold Bumiputra units when the deadline is passed, the transfer procedure is complicated and would eventually raise the cost to be borne by non-Bumiputra buyers.

Also because of the short supply, prices escalate fast. Negri Sembilan’s new housing policy not only raises the Bumiputra quota but also prohibits the cancellation and transfer of Bumiputra units. One can imagine the serious consequences faced by housing developers in the state.

In states like Perlis, most of the land is Malay reserve land. There are not many pieces of land which housing developers can build houses to be sold to the non-Bumiputras. The short supply has not only driven up prices but also restricted the choices of non-Bumiputra house buyers. Because of this, many young people have decided to buy houses and settle down in other states.

In comparison, Bumiputras also enjoy seven to 15 percent discounts. Non-Bumiputra buyers of Bumiputra units have to pay more. If the price difference is so obvious, how can we promote national unity by raising Bumiputra quota?

When state governments queue up to introduce more stringent housing quotas, they are not dealing with the root cause of the housing industry or helping the Bumiputras to own houses. Such racist policy is destructive to racial harmony. In a free market economy the supply of houses should be based on demand. The policy of fixing rigid quotas for Bumiputras and non-Bumiputras is out-dated, not to mention the raising of quota.

The government’s policy should be building more affordable houses in order to achieve the objective of helping the people to have a roof over their heads instead of separating house buyers between Bumiputras and non-Bumiputras.

Original Source: 房屋固打有违一马精神