Housing development account (HDA) weaknesses in monitoring and management procedures are among factors identified as contributing to problematic housing projects.

Deputy Local Government Development Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said HDAs are under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act (Act 118), where the law requires licensed housing developers to open and maintain HDAs with banks for each project undertaken.

“An HDA is [supposed to be] specific to one project, but what happened was that one HDA was used for several projects, and even the financial institution’s bridging loan with the developer was not included in the HDA. HDAs were clearly stipulated in Act 118, but the implementation was vague,” he said.

An HDA is an account for deposit savings for developers to obtain development licences and financial loans for construction, and to regulate projects from being abandoned.

Speaking at a press conference regarding the development of the status of sick and abandoned housing projects here on Friday, Akmal Nasrullah said that the Ministry of Local Government Development wants HDA monitoring to be improved and coordinated between the ministry and the banks.

Akmal Nasrullah said the task force for sick and abandoned private housing projects had forwarded improvement recommendations to financial and banking institutions, so that the intent of Act 118 is achieved, with a solution to ensure that HDA management is organised and regulated.

Apart from that, he said that several other weaknesses were also identified, including developers’ project management and financial capabilities, on-site management involving main contractors, and contract disputes between developers and landowners.

He added that until July 31, the task force had detected and monitored a total of 118 delayed projects (13,039 housing units), 490 sick projects (79,278 units), and 114 abandoned projects (24,262 units).

Akmal Nasrullah said 222 private housing projects (24,422 housing units) had been successfully restored, to the point of receiving a certificate of completion and compliance, or changing to smooth status.

“The gross development value (GDV) of the successfully restored projects is as much as RM20.61 billion. Of that amount, a total of 44 projects, or 3,496 units, were successfully restored for the period of July 1 to 31, with a GDV of RM3.14 billion,” he said.

Source: TheEdgeMalaysia.com

About Savana @ Utropolis

This is the fourth phase of Paramount Property’s Utropolis development at Batu Kawan. Located along Jalan Cassia Barat 2, adjacent to Sensasi and Sinaran Residences. It is less than 5 minutes’ walking distance to Design Village outlet mall and UOW MALAYSIA KDU Penang University College, with easy access to Penang Second Bridge and North-South Expressway. This development features 522 residential units with 8 levels of car parking podium.

Find out more about Utropolis @ Batu Kawan:

• Phase 1 – Sensasi Commercial & Residential Suites (Completed)
• Phase 2 – Suasana Residential Suites (Completed)
• Phase 3 – Sinaran Avenue & Sinaran Residences (On-going)
• Phase 4 – Savana (On-going)

(Photo taken Aug 2023)

The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia welcomes the announcement by Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming on the proposal to introduce a new law to oversee urban regeneration efforts in the country, according to a statement issued by Rehda president Datuk NK Tong on Thursday.

The new law is expected to be tabled in Parliament at the end of next year, Nga said on Tuesday (Sept 5).

Rehda said it is high time for such a law to be introduced, given the lack of streamlined governance on such matters, which is currently implemented through nine different government ministries and agencies. It further added that this new law will be a welcomed addition to the Urban Renewal Implementation Guidelines, which were launched on Tuesday.

In formulating this law, Tong said that the government through the Local Government Development Ministry (KPKT) has demonstrated a far-sighted and balanced approach towards economic growth. “While we know that the trend towards urbanisation will continue to expand, KPKT recognises that this must be done in an orderly and proactive manner which includes ensuring that older buildings are given a new lease of life, even as newer buildings appear to fill the growing demand of urbanisation.”

Tong noted that conservation is also included in the agenda. “This will further protect the cultural and architectural heritage that is essential in making a city vibrant and relevant, while also paying respect to the country’s history.”

“This new law will continue to reinforce Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Malaysia Madani concept, specifically in the area of good governance by having very clear and transparent guidelines, and in the area of sustainable development by ensuring that all rakyat will equally benefit as more economic opportunities are unlocked through this law,” he said.

Source: TheEdgeMalaysia.com

Bank Negara Malaysia has decided to maintain the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3% following its two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that ended today.

In a statement, the central bank said at the current OPR level, the monetary policy stance remains “supportive of the economy” and is consistent with the current assessment of inflation and growth prospects.

BNM noted that in the second quarter of the year, growth of the Malaysian economy was affected by slower external demand and a decline in commodity production.

“Moving forward, growth will continue to be driven by resilient domestic expenditure amid the challenging external environment,” it said.

“The MPC remains vigilant to ongoing developments to inform the assessment on the outlook of domestic inflation and growth. The committee will ensure that the monetary policy stance remains conducive to sustainable economic growth amid price stability,” it said.

“While the growth outlook is subject to downside risks stemming from weaker-than-expected external demand and larger and protracted declines in commodity production, upside risks mainly emanate from stronger-than-expected tourism activity, a stronger recovery from the E&E downcycle, and faster implementation of existing and new projects.

“In line with expectations, headline and core inflation have continued to ease amid the more moderate cost conditions. This moderating trend would likely continue in the second half of 2023, partly reflecting the higher base from the second half of 2022 and continued easing momentum of price increases,” it added.

BNM said risks to the inflation outlook remain highly subject to changes to domestic policy on subsidies and price controls, global commodity prices and financial market developments, as well as the degree of persistence in core inflation.

The central bank had surprised observers in May when it decided to raise the OPR by 25 basis points (bps) from 2.75% to 3%, after hitting the pause button at the MPC’s meetings in January and March. This brought the OPR to its pre-pandemic level of 3%. It held the OPR steady following the previous MPC meeting in July.

BNM had raised the OPR by a total of 100bps between May and November last year in a bid to tamp down on inflation.

All 27 economists polled by Reuters from Aug 29 to Sept 4 agreed that BNM would maintain the OPR at 3% for now.

Of the 18 who shared their views on which direction the rate would go until the end of next year, 15 agreed that the central bank would hold it at the current level.

Inflation in Malaysia dropped to a two-year low of 2% in July and the central bank, which does not particularly target inflation in setting monetary policy, had said it would cool further.

Source: FMT Online

Newly proposed landed residential development by Pemaju Kelang Lama Sdn. Bhd. in Permatang Pauh. Located near Jalan Sama Gagah, the proposed development is adjacent to Taman Himalaya. It is only about 1km away from the North-South Expressway’s Permatang Pauh interchange and approximately 10 minutes’ drive to the Penang Bridge.

This development will encompass the construction of 78 units of 3-storey terrace houses. As the development is currently in its planning stage, additional details will only become available upon the official launch.

Project Name: (to be confirmed)
Location: Permatang Pauh
Property Type: Residential
Total Units: 78
Built-up Size: (to be confirmed)
Land Area: (to be confirmed)
Land Tenure: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer: Pemaju Kelang Lama Sdn. Bhd.

DISCLAIMER: This article is solely based on research done using publicly available data. This is not an advertisement. Any claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a project or service should be verified with the developer, provider, or party in question.