The Penang government plans to attract 50 digital companies and create 2,000 high-income jobs in the next three years.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow expressed his hopes that these companies would invest, set up their operations, and serve as the anchors of the digital ecosystem in the newly-launched Creative Digital District (CD2) or CD Square in George Town.

“We hope to welcome more companies to be part of this ecosystem in the future as digitalisation has now become an important aspect in our daily lives.

“We were developing the manufacturing industry in the past, and we are now trying to rope in the electrical and electronics (E&E) companies in the state to be part of our digitalisation efforts.

“We want to use E&E companies to build a digitisation path.

“In terms of creative economy, the George Town Festival, led by Penang Tourism and Creative Economy (PETACE), has become a renowned annual event showcasing our talent in creative arts.

“In fact, CD Square is proud to have eight companies that have expressed their commitment to establishing a centre in Penang. They are Angkasa-X, BlueSkies, Censof, CTAPPS, Finexus, Karuna Sarawak, Securemetrics, and TriAset.

“Bringing the creative and digital communities together will result in a thriving innovative ecosystem,” Chow said after launching the Creative Digital District (CD2) or CD Square at UAB Building in China Street Ghaut last week.

The launch was also streamed live on Digital Penang’s Facebook page.

Creative Digital District (CD2), spans about 114 acres along Weld Quay-Light Street-Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling-Acheh Street.

This is in line with the Penang2030 vision, which is to implement place-making initiatives that serve as a catalyst for a liveable and resilient environment.

Chow said in Penang, there were a total of 10 industrial parks and a MSC Global Business Services zone in Suntech City.

“I am pleased that today we are designating this heritage area as the first Creative Digital District (CD2) in George Town.

“The goal is to create a digital ecosystem of tech start-ups, entrepreneurs, digital services and software companies that can innovate in an environment that promotes Live, Learn, Work and Play, while retaining the heritage character.

“I look forward to seeing the fusion of heritage and digital in the Creative Digital District (CD2) in the future.

“I believe that our academic institutions such as Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Wawasan Open University (WOU), The One Academy and others will produce great minds for careers in the creative and digital industries,” he said.

Chow also took his time to visit the exhibition by several digital start-ups and the creative showcase by local artists.

(Images source: Digital Penang)

Source: Buletin Mutiara

A proposed commercial development by Sunrich Capital Sdn. Bhd. in George Town. Strategically located on approximately 1 acre of land along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, in between Ambank and NSTP building. It is only a mere minute’s drive to KOMTAR and Penang’s most popular tourist destination – Gurney Drive.

This development will see the construction of a 39-storey serviced residence, featuring 508 unit of services suites and nine levels of car parking podium. There will also be four units of shot offices located at the ground level. Recreational facilities will be located at level 38.

The project is still in the planning stage. More details to be available upon official launch.

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : George Town
Property Type : Serviced residence
Tenure: (to be confirmed)
Built-up Size: (to be confirmed)
Total Units : 508
Indicative Price : (to be confirmed)
Developer :Sunrich Capital Sdn. Bhd. (GSD Land)
Last Updated: June 2023

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.

The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) is looking to receive feedback from the public and stakeholders on the proposed enactment of the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) via the Malaysian Productivity Corp’s (MPC) website.

According to the website, the one-month public consultation which begun on January 28,2022 and is slated to end on February 28,2022.

The website allows Malaysians to submit feedback and read the accompanying document titled – Proposed Survey and Drafting of the Residential Tenancy Act (Cadangan Kajian dan Penggubalan Akta Sewaan Kediaman).

What is the proposed Residential Tenancy Act?

The Residential Tenancy Act is a statute aimed at specifically protecting landlords and tenants.

Dedicated landlord and tenant legislation exist in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada to ensure that both parties are protected and some instances, to minimise housing discrimination.

Malaysia is long overdue for its own iteration of a residential tenancy act as existing laws are inadequate, arguably pro-tenant and current processes for recourse are impractical.

Current recourse for landlords and tenants in Malaysia include:

• Contracts Act 1950 – to cover conflicts on the tenancy agreement
• Civil Law Act 1956 – to cover payment disputes
• Distress Act 1951 – covering matters of eviction
• Specific Relief Act 1950 – prohibits landlords from evicting tenants or making the property inaccessible to tenants without a court order
• Common Law/Case Law – any court decisions covering disputes

Current means of recourse are lengthy and cost far more than the value of security deposits, limiting access to justice in the event of disputes, eviction or beaches of agreement between landlords and tenants.

The KPKT research document states that the administrative cost of court proceedings is around RM 1,236 for Magistrates Court and RM 1,476 for the Sessions court – with legal fees estimated around RM3,000 to RM15,000.

The setting up of a tribunal, as seen with The Strata Management Tribunal for example, can drastically reduce time and costs as well as avoid the need for legal representation.

Proposals for Malaysia’s Residential Tenancy Act

According to the KPKT’s research document, the proposed suggestions for Malaysia’s Residential Tenancy Act are:

• To ensure specific clauses to protect and preserve the rights of landlords and tenants from gaps in existing laws
• Provide a template tenancy agreement to reduce unfair terms and conditions in the best interest of all involved
• Provides processes for administering and regulating small rentals, transfers of rentals to third parties and determination of the rental period if the owner sells the premises, the premises are involved in an auction or in the event of death of any party.
• Ensure that the rental housing is in a livable condition and all parties sign the agreement after the inspection of the premises has been implemented.
• Set the notice period that must be given by homeowners and tenants so tenants are not forced to move out ahead of schedule.
• Establishment of a special Tribunal to resolve disputes of the parties involved in residential rental transactions.
• Provide a residential rental database to collect and store relevant data as big data that can assist in the policy-making process as well as the improvement of law enforcement.
• Cohesion of provisions in other statutes in force and to avoid creating an overlap between provisions that require consequential amendment to other acts.
• The implementation of the Residential Rental Act is regulated by a Comptroller of Residential Tenancy who is to be created to ensure residential rental transactions and the relationship between homeowners and tenants is efficiently managed, effective and uniform in all states in Peninsular Malaysia.
• Creating a residential rental database for the purpose of collecting public data (big data) that can be used by the government to study rental sector trends residence in the country and formulate relevant policies to ensure the ecosystem of residential and legal rental transactions will be improved from time to time.

However, the document also suggests the Comptroller of Residential Tenancy would be authorised to manage the security deposit to minimise conflicts between landlords and tenants.

The report states that the security deposit will be returned to the tenant once the tenancy expires and no expenses are to be deducted. Any disputes will be referred to the tribunal.

In effect, security deposits are no longer in the landlord hands so both landlords and tenants would have to go through the government for claims or refunds.

Another cause for concern is the proposed ‘rent control’ (Section 3.6) and the tribunals power to examine rental rates (Page 38) as the impact in might have on the free market.

If the legislation aims to regulate rental rates of public housing premises then it would contradict any current by-laws or agreements that prohibit the renting out of public housing projects.

Ultimately, the Residential Tenancy Act would be a necessary step forward however certain proposals could prejudice the free market or the very landlords and tenants it aims to protect.

The Act is expected to be tabled in Parliament in the middle of this year and come into effect in the middle of 2023. Malaysians may submit their feedback via the MPC website via this link.

Source: PropertyAdvisor.my

The Penang State Government through the Housing Selection Process Enhancement Committee (SPEC) will continue to ensure that ensure only truly qualified individuals can buy affordable homes in the state.

State Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said, to date, a total of 69,949 applicants have successfully passed the eligibility selection process.

“Data from 2013 shows that a total of 28,548 successful applicants are Type A affordable housing applications; 12,423 applicants (Type B) and 29,978 applicants (Type C).

“And out of the total number of applicants who have successfully passed this selection process, a total of 18,594 applicants are from the target group that is given priority.

“They consist of residents of displaced squatter areas (3,494 people); single mother or father (6,512); the disabled (OKU) (621), civil servants (7,767) and talent groups (200), ”he said at a press conference after a surprise visit and inspection to the affordable housing project site, TreeO near here on 24 February 2022.

Also present were the Chief Officer of the Penang State Housing Board (LPNPP), Fakhurrazi Ibnu Omar and a representative of Hunza Properties Berhad (Hunza) as the developer of the related project.

Meanwhile, Jagdeep, who is also the SPEC Chairman, said that the Penang State Government will continue to ensure that the plan to provide affordable housing in the state achieves the target of 220,000 units by 2030.

“A total of 38,190 units of houses have been completed and are ready to be occupied; Another 19,640 units are under construction and another 72,257 units have been approved by the State Government for development (a total of 131,391 units), ”he explained.

Commenting further, Jagdeep hoped that the Federal Government could also contribute to the supply of affordable housing in Penang, especially to the target group on the priority list.

“For example, the Malaysian Civil Servants Housing Scheme (PPAM) (formerly known as the 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing Scheme, PPA1M) should be continued, including in Penang, to ensure that eligible civil servants own their own homes,” he said.

Earlier, Jagdeep was taken on a tour of the TreeO affordable housing construction site located in Sungai Ara. The project comprises 1,240 affordable units, is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. Currently, 92% of the units have been sold and the current balance is only 99 units.

It is understood that TreeO is a Type C3 affordable housing project with an area of ​​900 square feet with a maximum sale price of RM300,000.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

Ahead of the official launch of Andaman and The Meg in March 2022, E&O gave partners from the media the opportunity to enjoy a private preview of the island and its first development.

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About The Meg @ Andaman

The first project in Andaman Island, the highly-anticipated prime reclaimed island of Seri Tanjung Pinang Phase 2A by E&O. Features two blocks of 27 and 34-storey serviced apartments with an estimated GDV of RM690 million. It comprises 1,020 residential units with innovative layouts designed to suit young executives and new families.

Find out more about The Meg @ Andaman