PUTRAJAYA: Housing developers and their directors will face a lifetime ban from the industry if they are caught reselling subsidised cement meant for affordable housing, says Nga Kor Ming.
In issuing a stern warning, the Housing and Local Government Minister said the government will not tolerate unscrupulous parties seeking to profit from the newly expanded Rahmah Cement Initiative.
Under the scheme, the government is allocating 1.6 million metric tonnes of highly subsidised cement to ensure affordable homes remain priced at RM300,000 and below.
“We must be honest and maintain integrity. We don’t want people to abuse the initiative.
“Irresponsible parties will be blacklisted forever. I will blacklist not just the companies but also the directors.
“There will be no more Advertising Permit and Developer’s Licence for them,” he told a press conference yesterday.
The expanded initiative, formed through a strategic partnership with the Cement and Concrete Association of Malaysia will officially take effect on June 1.
Under the scheme, the price of bulk cement is capped at RM290 per metric tonne – a 32% reduction from the market price of RM425.
As for a 50kg bag of cement, it will be sold at RM17.50, a 30% drop from the current market rate of RM24.90.
Nga said the subsidy is a proactive response to the rising cost of building materials driven by tensions in the Middle East and global supply chain crises.
By absorbing these external market shocks, he said developers now have “breathing room” to maintain low selling prices.
“When basic costs are stabilised, there is no longer an excuse for developers to reduce the quality of other materials.
“This also mitigates the risk of affordable housing projects becoming ‘sick’ or abandoned,” he added.
To prevent leakages and ensure strict compliance, Nga said all applications for the scheme will be fully coordinated through the Housing Integrated Management System by the National Housing Department.
The minister also said the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association had already disseminated details of the scheme to all developers.
The initiative has now been expanded to cover affordable housing projects under both federal and state governments.
Highlighting past successes, Nga said the initial launch of the scheme in 2023 saw 317,000 metric tonnes of cement utilised to build 11,909 affordable homes.
Moving forward, he said the ministry is determined to empower the housing agenda in the upcoming 13th Malaysia Plan to ensure youths and low-income families are not priced out of home ownership.
Nga added that the housing initiative is a crucial component of the Madani government’s broader commitment to alleviating the cost of living, complementing other welfare programmes such as BUDI95, Budi Diesel, Rahmah Cash Aid and Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme.
