Dr Sim said commodity prices in Sarawak are generally higher when compared with Peninsular Malaysia due to logistics and transportation. – Photo by Harry Izzdin
KUCHING (May 26): Housing price is a function of supply and demand in Sarawak, Public Health, Housing and Local Government Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian told the State Legislative Assembly.
Explaining why the median price of houses in Sarawak is higher than those in Peninsular Malaysia, he said commodity prices in Sarawak are generally higher when compared with Peninsular Malaysia due to logistics and transportation.
“Furthermore, in West Malaysia, they have the economies of scale and size of the housing projects. Thus, housing price in Sarawak is generally and slightly higher than the national median house price which is RM326,500 versus RM295,000 based on 2020 statistics,” Dr Sim said in his ministerial winding-up speech at the august House yesterday.
He was also responding to a query from Padungan assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen over the matter. Chong is also Sarawak DAP chairman.
Dr Sim pointed out that Khazanah Research Institute’s median house price is based on houses developed by private developers and does not include affordable housing developed by federal or state governments.
“The median price of houses is affected by a number of factors, and in Sarawak our inclination is to have landed properties with a bigger land size, spacious green area and low density development. Hence, it is misleading to equate median house price with affordability and affordable housing.”
He said the Sarawak government is well aware of the market situation and as a responsible government, it has embarked vigorously on the provision of affordable housing to all spectra of income groups with various financial assistance schemes, he said.
They include policy of subdivision of private land and Rumah Mampu Milik (Affordable Housing) with schemes like Spektra Lite, Spektra Medium, Putera, Housing Deposit Assistance Scheme (HDAS) and financing through Mutiara with very low interest rate from one to three per cent as well as a category for those who cannot get bank loan, he added.
In 2019, after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government did not allocate any funding for affordable housing for Sarawak despite housing being a concurrent list; instead of inaction, Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg set a target of 2,500 units of affordable housing by Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government with the price range of RM90,000 to RM160,000 to be built, he said.
To date, the state has 2,800 units at different stages of construction, he added.
“In summary, our housing policies are very resilient to the housing market and have been affordable to the people.”
As for Rancangan Perumahan Rakyat (RPR) programme, the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has planned to build 30 units of detached Rumah Spektra Permata (RSP) under the 12th Malaysian Plan.
The consultant for the re-planning has been appointed in April 2022, he said.
HDC will collaborate with the Land and Survey Department for the provision of Rumah Spektra Permata (RSP) on any completed village extension scheme and also resettlement scheme if any, in any constituencies in Sarawak, he pointed out.
On matters involving the Tribunal for Housing Purchaser Claims, Dr Sim, who is also Deputy Premier, said the total number of cases it had solved since January 2019 is 264.
Out of that figure, 45 cases were solved in the year 2019, 110 cases (2020), 97 cases (2021) and 12 cases (2022).
“All cases were solved in various divisions. The total value of award given by the Tribunal Court for the past three years since 2019 is RM3.9 million,” he said.
For the past three years, 78 cases have been withdrawn from the Tribunal Court.
The Tribunal office encourages both claimants and respondents to negotiate and solve their problems outside the Court, he said.
For instance, the tribunal filed a suit against a developer in Limbang District in January 2022 for failing to settle the Liquidated and Ascertained Damages (LAD), thus making the suit the first in Sarawak.
The suit was taken for an offence under Section 53 (1), Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Ordinance, 2013, namely failing to comply with the award issued by the Tribunal for Housing Purchaser Claims within 45 days from the date of the award.
This legal action will give awareness to housing developers not to take lightly the award issued by the Tribunal for Housing Purchaser Claims, said Dr Sim, who is also Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president.
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