GEORGE TOWN – The Bayan Bay community today affirms their trust and belief with the Pakatan Rakyat led State Government as Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng scraps a reclamation deal with Boustead Holdings Berhad (BHB), and paid attention instead to the voice of the rakyat of the Pantai Jerejak constituency.

The reclamation deal was a result of a botched development deal made by the previous Barisan Nasional government, approved back in April 2007; with the plans approved in February 2008, a month before the political tsunami of March 08 hit Penang. The proposed development of a twelve storey hotel by BHB was against the conditions imposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for George Town’s World Heritage City Status and was thus halted in 2009.

A revised building plan reducing the hotel from 12 storeys to only 5 was then submitted in consideration of the State Government agreeing to a reclamation deal along the coastal area off Queensbay. The Chief Minister however postponed the signing ceremony scheduled in June this year as he wanted to listen to the view of the residents in the area and Pantai Jerejak Assemblyman YB Sim Tze Tin.

In a statement today the Chief Minister decides not to pursue the land reclamation at Bayan Bay to BHB, also because of the legal notice of defamation issued by BHB to YB Sim over his remarks in merely defending the interests of his constituents.

“The Penang State Government only submits to the people of Penang,” says Lim. “To pursue the land reclamation under the shadow of the legal notice of defamation sent by BHB to YB Sim is wholly inappropriate. The State Government views such act with displeasure as it is a form of pressure exerted on the State Government.”

Lim also reminds the residents of the Bayan Bay area who were also present at the press conference today that, “Those who claimed to protect your interest are the one who initiated the problem in the first place.”

The Bayan Bay community took the opportunity to express their gratitude to the Chief Minister, that though he was taking a big toll on the decision, he puts the interest of the Rakyat first above all else. “If you continue helping the rakyat, we will always support you,” says a representative. “The Rakyat has to face the consequences due to problems made by previous government.”

Further negotiations with BHB will decide on whether there will be any form of compensation.

Source: BuletinMutiara

KUALA LUMPUR: Property developer Nadayu Properties Bhd
(formerly known as Mutiara Goodyear Development Bhd) is targeting sales next year of RM300 million of its properties in several locations in Klang Valley and Penang.

Executive chairman Hamidon Abdullah said the company is about to launch three new projects: Nadayu 28 Sunway, expected to be launched early next month; Nadayu 99 Cyberjaya at the end of this year; and Nadayu 290 Penang early next year.

“The Nadayu brand is becoming acceptable, people are starting to identify the name, and people are starting to associate it with some level of quality and delivery.

“But we want to put out complete affordable products,” he told reporters at Nadayu’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) here today.

Hamidon said to date, the company had achieved sales this year of about RM250 million of its mixed development projects.

At the EGM, shareholders approved the disposal of three office lots at Dataran Prima with a total floor area of 213.435 sq m for a cash consideration of RM42.6 million.

Hamidon said the asset disposal was in line with the company’s strategy of disposing of non-core assets to focus on its core business of property development.

“The cash from the asset disposal will be used to acquire more strategic land banks for future development,” he said.

Upon completion of the asset disposal, Nadayu shareholders’ funds will stand at RM330.9 million with net asset per share of RM1.44. – Bernama

SOURCE: Business Times

UPLANDS Resort Sdn Bhd plans to build 189 units of medium-range condominiums in Batu Ferringhi to address the need for affordable housing in Penang.

Its director Albert Chuan said they were targeting households with a combined monthly income of RM5,000 and below.

He said plans for the project, located on a 0.9 ha site on Jalan Sungai 1, had been submitted to the local authorities.

?We hope to get the green light soon and start construction work in the first quarter of 2012,? he said, adding the RM34.7mil project should be completed in 30 months.

Chuan added the project was in line with the spirit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak?s 1Malaysia People?s Housing Programme (PRIMA) to promote affordable housing in the country.

PRIMA, a corporation set up under the Prime Minister?s Department, was launched in the recent Budget 2012 announcement to distribute affordable houses to eligible first time house buyers, whose monthly income is not more than RM6,000.

The 15-storey project, which has 21 units per floor, is serviced by three lifts. Among its facilities are a swimming pool, gymnasium, community hall, and a roof-top landscaped garden.

Chuan said the company was also ?donating? a RM3.5mil wet market equipped with a car park and multi-purpose hall food court to the Penang Municipal Council.

?This is to fulfil our obligation to provide social amenities to the community in Batu Ferringhi,? he added.

Since 1993, Uplands Resort had completed over 1,000 units of residential landed and high-rise properties in Batu Ferringhi.

SOURCE: The Star

DURING an international conference on quantity surveying in Penang last week where she was invited to deliver a keynote address, former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz continued to be in her element.

The feisty former minister, who earned the nickname “Iron Lady of Malaysia”, did not miss a beat and held a captive audience.

From highlighting the fact that the facilities at an international beachfront hotel where the event was held were less than satisfactory by saying “your microphones here do not rock”, to amusing her audience by using a term “prawn brain” which she has coined before, referring to government officials who cause bureaucratic problems, there were no dull moments.

The heart of her speech, however, touched on the green agenda, as she spoke on the need for the issue to focus entirely on saving the environment, rather than it being about politics and power.

“The green agenda itself and sustainability issues,” noted Rafidah, “have (also) tended to be hijacked by politicians, in seeking a platform to operate upon and make green issues political capital … and this has already happened in some of the developed countries”.

The green agenda, Rafidah said, should not be politicised, as it would detract from the focus required to put into place, policies and programmes directly linked to sustainability.

“Today,” she added, “sustainability has emerged as an important factor in international trade, as more consumers, especially in the developed economies are demanding that products which enter their markets, have undergone production processes, which have in turn, met prescribed standards and regimes; all in the context and preservation of the environment and human welfare and the eco-system”.

Her call to her audience of the day made up of international quantity surveyors, academicians and several corporate sponsors of the event in being good stewards of the environment to ensure long-term business success, is perhaps a sound and timely lesson which must be taken up urgently in Penang.

Citizen groups are becoming more aware and concerned whether the island state is now seeing a further rise in rampant and unbalanced development as high rises, traffic congestion, reclamation projects, more shopping malls, high-rise dwellings and big-ticket commercial and residential property projects are the order of the day.

In the name of wanting to turn George Town into an international liveable city and lure top-notch talent to work, live and play, it appears that the issue of development has turned into one which is now becoming too property-centric.

With increased permissible density, from 1:1 to 2.8:1 or the density of 87 units per acre, land in Penang is becoming even more valuable.

This is because property developers, who are anticipating higher profits, are making a beeline to the island to buy land, and, as with all businesses, to build up to the maximum limit and maximise their profits.

Penang’s beachfronts, its pristine hill station, Penang Hill, and the state’s “golden goose”, which is the world heritage city status obtained in 2008, have not been spared the indiscriminate construction and proposed construction of high-rise buildings.

Add to this, growing environmental destruction on virtually all spots of the island, amid concerns that the state could head for a housing and construction bubble.

The primary responsibility in ensuring that environmental protection is not spawned by political interests, lies with the state.

Politicians and policymakers must determine how entrepreneurship and property rights are utilised to promote and achieve a sound balance in environmental and economic growth.

Ultimately, it is the people who must remain at the heart of the green agenda, and this calls for consumers to stand up for their belief systems and use common sense along with sound and independent science, to chart their own destinies in choosing the kind of Penang they want.


SOURCE: Business Times

HERE are some pointers for those considering a property investment in the near term:

Valuer and managing director of Khong & Jaafar Elvin Fernandez

“The global environment is changing. Strictly speaking, an upgrader sells the old house to buy the new. If he is going to hang on to the old, he will have to consider the rental market where yields are falling. He has to consider whether the market has peaked in the areas he wants to buy and whether it can go further and that may be unlikely in many areas. Value has gone above the normal governing fundamentals of price versus household income, and price versus rental returns.

“Although Malaysia is rapidly developing and we have a young population and we have seen more years of prices running up than going down, this may not be replicated as sentiments may be poor as a result of what is happening in Europe.

“As for commercial properties, the retail market looks stronger than the office market as there is an oversupply in this sub-segment.

“As for first time buyers, we have a whole range of housing from the low cost to the high-end. But many of the properties that young people may be able to afford are poorly maintained and because of this, these properties are not desirable. The authories should have more stringent legislation for people who default on their service charges. It makes good sense to seek professional property management instead of doing it on a piecemeal basis. Taking care of the maintenance issue is more logical step than building more, only to have the maintenance issue cropping up again later on.”

Tetap Tiara Sdn Bhd executive director (Jaya One) Charles Wong

“Prices will have to stabilise. When considering buying the larger residential units for investment, the question to ask is, Can you rent it out? Smaller units will be more feasible. But having said that, we are seeing a huge number of 400 sq ft units of service apartments being built. While these may be affordable, buyers must consider rentability. Access, connectivity and proximity to amenities are important. And if there are so many of these units, you may need to take a longer period to rent and to re-sell in the secondary market in today’s uncertain climate.

“In the retail market, rental rates have been coming down and are softer than two to three years ago. For landed properties, the rental are expected to drop from 3%-4% to sometimes 1% or 2% and condominium yield from 7% to 8% to 4%-5%.”

Mah Sing group managing director/chief executive Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum

“The demand will be for smaller units, and for mid-end housing, instead of the high-end ones. If it is a location they want, for example KLCC area, people will buy a little further away like in Jalan Ampang where prices are lower.”

GV International managing director Samuel Tan

“In Johor, price increase is expected to be gradual. Areas with good connectivity will be popular. In the last several years, the emphasis on infrastructures like highways has helped to spur interest and prices. The western coastal highway from Skudai to Bukit Indah has made travelling a breeze and prices have moved 10% or more. Developers are expected to report good sales in the near future although September was a soft month, as a result of the US downgrade in August. Iskandar Malaysia will become more visible and is expected to generate interest from the Japanese, South Koreans and Singaporeans.”

Real Estate Housing Developers’ Association (Penang) chairman Datuk Jerry Chan

“Demand for landed units on the mainland and Penang island will continue but yield on the island is expected to be low, at 1% or 2%. The price movement for this year has been greater than last year. We continue to see land prices going up. For the lower to mid-end, prices are still moving. Demand is expected to remain firm for properties priced RM600,000-RM700,000 and below. For those between RM800 and RM1,000 per sq ft or about RM1mil, people will have adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

“Currently, prices on the mainland is a quarter or a fifth of those on the island. Penang people are beginning to find it too expensive on the island and are moving to the mainland.”

SOURCE: The Star