Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 9, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will be combining five existing agencies to form a single entity, known as the National Affordable Housing Council, to streamline and coordinate the development of affordable housing in the country.

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the ministry is looking to consolidate Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia, Uda Holdings Bhd, Syarikat Perumahan Negara Sdn Bhd, Housing Programme for the Hardcore Poor, and 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing.

“This proposed single entity will be ensured to approach private developers with the correct guidelines and engagements on affordable housing.

“Coupled with a sound public policy to address the issue at hand, I believe it will be essential in promoting greater strategic and operational cohesion at the national level,” she said in her keynote address at the Industry-Government Open Dialogue for Housing, organised by the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute.

Zuraida said the merging of the initial five bodies aims to provide a consolidated approach in addressing the affordable housing issue as well as avoid any overlapping of affordable housing projects.

She added that grouping the different bodies under one entity will allow the government to control the distribution, the financing schemes and the pricing of the housing units, in line with the ministry’s policies.

Once the five agencies are streamlined, Zuraida said there will be a bigger volume of developments, which will make it more cost-effective to use industrialised building system.

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