Mohd Jafni says Johor government wlll continue to prioritise the lower-income group.
FOR the Rumah Mampu Milik Johor (RMMJ) project to succeed, both housing developers and the B40 community in need of affordable homes must benefit, says the Johor Housing Development Corporation (PKPJ).
State housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said the government was well aware of the rising cost of building materials, and would continue to help the lower-income community to buy their dream home.
“The state government, through PKPJ, has prepared incentives for housing developers to encourage them to continue developing RMMJ.
“Based on the current Johor housing policy, each developer needs to allocate 40% of its total project cost to build houses with a price tag of RM42,000, RM80,000, and RM150,000,” he said, adding that the developers could make profit from the remaining 60% of the project.
Mohd Jafni noted that some developers had failed to fulfil their responsibilities in developing the 40% affordable homes.
He said the state government had just completed its first round of discussions on introducing a new Johor housing policy, and there were still a few more discussions before they could table it to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
“The new housing policy also incorporates housing policies from other states such as Melaka, Kedah and Selangor, as well as policies from the previous government,” Mohd Jafni said, assuring that the new policy would be fair to developers and the government.
He was asked to comment on Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia’s (Rehda) statement asking for government intervention to mitigate the rising costs of building materials.
“We have been meeting with Rehda and other developers to discuss this, and we will find a win-win solution for all,” said Mohd Jafni.
Rehda was reported saying that more was needed to revive the housing and construction industries to ensure that issues faced by industry players were addressed effectively.
It urged the government to review and reduce unnecessary charges, such as those imposed by utility companies and authorities on land earmarked for social and community facilities, road and drainage, and open spaces.
The association hopes new charges will not be imposed on developers as they are already required to build the necessary infrastructure for their respective development projects.
