KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry will strengthen monitoring of at-risk and troubled housing projects and carry out early intervention measures to ensure developments remain on schedule despite rising construction costs.
Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said Putrajaya was aware that higher construction costs, driven in part by increased diesel prices and logistics expenses, posed challenges to the housing sector.
He noted that these hikes could affect both new house prices and home ownership affordability, particularly among low- and middle-income groups.
He said the ministry was studying several mitigation measures, including improvements to policies and mechanisms under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 (Act 118).
The ministry is also enhancing oversight of high-risk and sick housing projects to prevent delays and reduce the burden on homebuyers.
Nga said in a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday (June 23) that the government remains committed to ensuring that the people’s housing agenda continues to be a priority.
He stated that the Housing and Local Government Ministry is continuously monitoring developments in construction costs and implementing various intervention measures to reduce the impact of rising costs on the housing sector and homebuyers.
Nga said rising input costs had placed pressure on developers and contractors, while also having the potential to influence the pricing of new homes and the public’s ability to purchase them.
Among the measures being considered are the wider adoption of cost-efficient construction technologies such as Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM).
Other modern construction methods are also being looked at to reduce dependence on labour and improve productivity.
He said the government would also continue implementing the Skim Simen Rahmah initiative to help control building material costs and support the development of affordable housing projects.
The programme offers cement at below-market prices and has been expanded to affordable housing developments undertaken by the Federal Government, state governments and the private sector.
Nga added that the government would also strengthen home ownership initiatives such as the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme, Rent-to-Own programmes and affordable housing schemes to assist lower- and middle-income earners in purchasing homes despite rising living costs.
“The construction sector remained a key driver of the economy, with wide spillover effects across more than 200 economic subsectors.
“According to the Statistics Department, the sector contributed 4.3% to Malaysia’s gross domestic product in 2025,” he said.
The reply was in response to a question from Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (Perikatan Nasional-Dungun), who asked about government intervention measures following higher construction costs resulting from increased diesel prices and their impact on house prices and home ownership affordability.
