PUTRAJAYA, March 30 — Malaysians should change their mindset when it comes to buying properties at a young age that results in a huge long-term debt, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said today.
Speaking at a dialogue session for the Transformasi Nasional (TN50) vision, Johari said that in many other countries, people prefer to rent for a longer amount of time and only make a long-term commitment when they have enough cash.
“It is our culture — we don’t believe in renting. We have to change our mindset. When you go to the UK — they just rent until they have the money to make a long term commitment,” Johari said.
Johari said that more affordable houses should be built for rent, and not for purchase.
Johari noted that many Malaysians take on hire-purchase loans and mortgages at a young age, mostly when they start working.
“This is why we are investing in public transport. We need this so that the next generation, when they go to work, they don’t have to buy a car anymore,” he said.
The TN50 dialogues are a series of events spearheaded by the Youth and Sports Ministry to collect feedback from Malaysians to formulate a vision for Malaysia ahead of the year 2050.
