Housing developers say property owners should be prepared to pay more for the enhanced security measures to be incorporated in building designs.

Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) president Datuk Seri Michael Yam said such measures like safer walkways came with a price.

“Would the market be willing to pay a higher price for the implementation and maintenance of these measures?

“Developers should be left to decide if it is financially viable for them to include all the measures.

“Using legislation to enforce this would be challenging,” Yam said.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heungannounced on Wednesday that the ministry had set aside RM64mil to build safer walkways to foil snatch thieves.

The walkways, to be built further from roads and separated by barriers, are to be implemented in 151 local authorities nationwide by next month.

Acting Kuala Lumpur police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Amar Singhsaid police would not stop making their rounds despite the additional safety measures being und taken by local councils.

He said measures to prevent crime through environmental design should work in conjunction with crime prevention rounds by the police.

“It is another level of protection.

“We will still be working closely with resident associations and volunteer patrol groups to combat crime,” said SAC Amar Singh.

Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice-president Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said barricades were the most effective method of fighting snatch thieves.

“Preventing crime through environmental design would minimise the opportunities for criminals to strike,” Lee said.

He added that although the programme had outlined the role of local authorities, town planners and architects, the public also needed to play their part.

“They are the eyes and ears of the authorities,” Lee said.

Only Penang voters will be allowed to buy units at a huge low- and medium-cost and affordable housing project to be built by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC).

The corporation has allocated a 60.7ha site in Batu Kawan on the mainland for the project, which will comprise high-rise units.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government was imposing this requirement to ensure that only Penangites benefited from the project.

“The units will be priced at between RM72,500 and RM220,000.

“There will be a variety of units with different built-up areas,” said Lim, who is also PDC chair-man.

He said the project site was the largest tract of land ever allocated in Penang to build such homes.

“Previously, our affordable housing projects were located in mixed-development sites,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Lim said the project would support Batu Kawan’s housing needs as it transforms into an industrial estate.

He said the state government hoped it would be implemented as soon as possible.

He said more details on the project, such as the number of units and the various built-up areas, would be released once the project plan was completed.

Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris said affordable homes should be made available to all Malaysians, not just Penang voters.

He, however, welcomed the move by the state government to allocate such a big plot of land for such homes.

In the course of the higher profit, SP Setia continued to set new sales benchmarks, with second-quarter sales of RM671 million were 12 per cent more than the previous record set in the second quarter of 2010.

The cumulative six-month sales of RM1.41 billion, meanwhile, was 17 per cent higher than the previous six-month high in 2009.

SP Setia said in a statement yesterday that the first seven months of 2011 saw sales of RM1.66 billion. This surpassed the full-year sales achieved in every year of its history, save for the RM2.32 billion recorded in 2010.

Projects that contributed to the impressive sales numbers included Setia Alam and Setia Eco Park in Shah Alam, SetiaWalk in Pusat Bandar Puchong, Setia Sky Residences in Jalan Tun Razak, Bukit Indah, Setia Indah, Setia Tropika and Setia Eco Gardens in Johor Baru, as well as Setia Pearl Island and Setia Vista in Penang.

SP Setia president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin is confident of meeting its 2011 sales target of RM3 billion. This was based on the strong sales momentum for existing projects and the imminent launch of its highly-anticipated KL Eco City project in Abdullah Hukum.

"This has been a busy year for the group as we are obtaining the necessary approvals in preparation for the launch of our recently secured landbank," Liew said in the statement.

These included the 108.5ha of land in Cyberjaya and another two parcels measuring 105ha and 106ha respectively located in the fast growing Tebrau corridor in Johor.

The Cyberjaya development, to be named Setia Eco Glades, has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM3 billion, while the estimated combined GDV for the two new projects in Johor, namely Setia Eco Cascadia and Setia Biz Park II, is RM2.5 billion.

Liew said that the Malaysian property market has never been healthier and that demand for good properties continues to be very robust in all the markets the company operates in.

SOURCE: Business Times

The requirements to become a housing developer and to get the permit for a housing project will be tightened to ensure only qualified companies are given the approval to develop housing projects.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said the tighter requirements were among the amendments to the Housing Development Act, which would be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat by the year end, to overcome the issue of abandoned housing projects, which had been burdening house buyers nationwide.

“We are aware that there are too many irresponsible housing developers, who, when facing financial problems, will simply wash their hands and stop their projects without any strong reasons and end up being blacklisted.”

He said this to reporters after visiting an abandoned housing project site in Taman Putra Indah, Bercham, here Thursday.

The minister said, in such circumstances, the house buyers would be the ones at the losing end.

Through the amendments, Chor said the ministry would be able to ensure that every approved housing scheme or project would run smoothly according to the sale and purchase agreement signed between the buyer and the developer.

Besides, he said the amendments would also tighten the permit application procedures for housing development and sales.

He said the amendments were proposed after taking into consideration the views and suggestions from various quarters, including the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association. – Bernama

Source: The Star

GEORGE TOWN: A Malay-based non-governmental organisation wants the state government to come up with more affordable housing schemes on the island for the community here.

Penang Malay Congress president Rahmad Isahak said the state government’s plan to develop the island into an international-class one, was commendable but it would undeniably affect the economy of the Malays in the state if many were forced to relocate out of their ancestral houses due to rising living costs.

However he did not deny that many residents here could benefit from the rapid development pace as it would create employment opportunities.

“However, the current housing schemes are far from being affordable, especially for the Malays on the island. Only a small number of us can afford to buy homes on the island and even if we can afford them, the majority can afford only low-cost apartments,” he said a press conference here yesterday.

He urged the state government to look into the social and economic welfare of the Malays in Penang.

“There is a strong imbalance in the socio-economic conditions in Penang. Most of the Malay middle-income earners here can afford to buy houses in only Balik Pulau and Seberang Prai,” he claimed.

Source: The Star