Looking for affordable homes? Penang urges skilled Malaysians to move north

GEORGE TOWN, June 2 — The Penang government is hoping to retain its skilled workforce and lure new talents to move into the state with its offers of affordable housing.

The island state’s Selection Process Enhancement Committee (SPEC) chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said skilled and talented workers from other states can now apply for an affordable housing unit in Penang.

“Previously only those who are registered voters and have lived here for a minimum five years can apply but now, we have open up a new category for skilled and talent workers especially in the fields of engineering, accountancy and technology,” he told a press conference here today.

He added that all talented and skilled workers were welcome, including artists.

Jagdeep who also chairs the state housing development committee said this new category was proposed by the state investment arm and urged those interested to register with InvestPenang.

“This is one of the state’s way to attract and retain human talent to fill vacancies in these sectors in the state,” he said.

However, Jagdeep said priority is given to Penangites along with single parents, the disabled and those displaced due to development.

According to a survey by InvestPenang, it was forecasted that 13,088 new jobs will be opened up in the fields of engineering, accountancy and technology by 2017 in the private sector.

“SPEC decided to adopt this proposal by InvestPenang and to prevent abuse of this new category, the applicants will have to undertake to be in Penang for a minimum of five years from the date of the handover of keys to the affordable unit,” he said.

Applicants will be first vetted through by InvestPenang before they will again be vetted by SPEC.

Affordable housing is a category of housing prices below RM400,000 for units on the island and below RM250,000 for units on the mainland.

Under the state housing policy, only eligible applicants who had registered with the state government can purchase affordable housing units.

SPEC, which meets each month, consisted of a seven-member committee and is in charge of approving applicants for low cost, low medium cost and affordable housing units.

There are about 37,000 units of affordable housing units planned for the state expected to be ready by 2025.