PETALING JAYA, Feb 14 

— Developers and contractors lauded the government's move to encourage the development of low-cost houses through the MyHome scheme.

They welcomed the move, calling it a win-win situation for both first-time house buyers and developers. They said the initiative was timely given the rise of goods, cost of materials and services.

However, some claim there must be transparency in distribution of the RM300 million set aside.

This was following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's announcement yesterday  that the government would offer financial aid of up to RM30,000 for each unit built under the MyHome scheme beginning in April.

This, he said, would ease the burden of developers having to absorb construction cost.

Najib explained that the MyHome scheme worked by allowing house buyers to purchase property at the ceiling price for low-cost housing set by their respective states, using the subsidy to offset the construction cost to determine what is low-cost. 

Housing, Local Government and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan also said prospective homebuyers under the MyHome scheme would need to register with his ministry and that they would select the deserving house-buyer based on a first-come-first-serve basis.

“Likewise for developers, they would need to apply to his ministry first to be part of the scheme and only ministry developers could participate in the initiative,” he said. 

The Malay Mail spoke to associations representing developers, contractors and house buyers:

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia president Datuk Seri Michael Yam.

“This is fantastic news for first-time house buyers and developers. It will assist first-time house buyers and also developers who can reduce their burdens on low-cost subsidiaries developments.

Despite its aid only being offered to 10,000 units, it is a step in the right direction which could lead to more assistance in the future. I say this on the assumption the government and developers will ensure the right people are given the subsidiaries. Any little from the government helps. Sadly they are often not given enough credit for their efforts.” 

The Malay Contractor Association of Malaysia secretary-general Datuk Wira Jamaludin Abdul Rahim “We welcome the government's perfectly timed assistance. This is a good effort, especially when the cost of materials is increasing. Both buyers and developers stand to gain and this would lead to a surge in development of housing estates. Contractors would be more committed to their projects now as they hardly scrape through from just bearing the costs itself.  The MyHome is a good move and a step in the right direction. This effort will definitely spur the economy and hopefully it'll be more than just 10,000 units in future.” 

National House Buyers Association (HBA) secretary-general Chang Kim Loong

“While the move may seem to be a step in the right direction, the distribution of allocation should be transparent. If it is implemented without proper regulations, it'll end up as a bad move. People need to know this scheme is fair to all. There isn't any data bank that records  first-time house buyers who would raise the subject of house-buying abuse. Most house-buyers do not declare their homes and this easily leads to abuse. The scheme has to be fair and thorough as the respective authorities (enforcement) had always been the weakest when committing to their duties.”