Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.
PUTRAJAYA: The allocation for the Housing and Local Government Ministry has increased by 2.6% in Budget 2026, as the funding aims to empower local governments, strengthen the well-being of the people, and ensure urban sustainability.
Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming (pic) said the ministry received an allocation of RM6.09bil for 2026 compared to RM5.93bil the previous year, an increase of RM154mil.
Through Budget 2026, the ministry will ensure that every sen spent has a direct impact on the people, whether in urban or rural areas.
“We want the people to live comfortably, local authorities (PBT) to be more competitive, and communities to continue to progress together with the spirit of Malaysia Madani,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Nga said that Budget 2026 also emphasises upholding accountability and integrity during the implementation of policies and projects to build confidence that the country’s progress is based on trust and transparency.
“The allocation of a large budget to the ministry demonstrates the Madani Government’s confidence in the ministry’s ability to continue the agenda of empowering the people’s wellbeing and strengthening a sustainable and inclusive living environment,” he said in a Bernama report.
Nga said the allocation focuses on four main sectors: housing, local government, community well-being, and firefighting services.
He said there are 12 major projects planned, which include RM143mil for maintaining public and private apartment buildings, like fixing low- and medium-cost homes and replacing old elevators, and RM672mil for the People’s Residency Programme (PRR) and Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR), helping over 33,000 residents, including projects in PRR Ayer Lanas, Jeli in Kelantan, and PRR Masai, Johor.
Other initiatives include extending the full stamp duty exemption for transfer instruments and loan agreements for first-time homebuyers of properties valued up to RM500,000 until Dec 31, 2027, to ensure the property market remains competitive and to control house price increases for the benefit of the people.
Additionally, stamp duty has also been increased from four to eight per cent on property transfer instruments by foreign citizens or companies.
Also provided are an extension of the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme (SJKP), with an additional fund of RM10bil to benefit another 80,000 homebuyers; RM60mil for the construction of stalls and the repair of public markets, as well as the construction and repair of public markets throughout local authorities; and RM55mil for the upgrading of drains and ditches in local authority areas.
Other allocations include RM95mil for the repair and upgrading of public toilets, RM90mil for upgrading basic infrastructure in Chinese new villages and Indian settlements and strengthening local community facilities, and RM50mil for the repair and maintenance of registered non-Muslim places of worship nationwide, including Sabah and Sarawak.
