GEORGE TOWN, Jan 9 – The opening ceremony of Penang International Property Summit 2016 was held on Friday morning at SPICE Arena, with the present of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. This is the second installment of the Penang International Property Summit which was organized by Penang State Housing Committee.
Penang Chief Minister said this summit is a testament to our motto of being Competent, Accountable and Transparent (CAT), the axis upon which they have administered to the state. He said that the Penang State Government has continued engaging with all stakeholders in the property sector in Penang, from the developer to the consumer.
“As a result of our CAT governance, which abhors corruption and which prioritizes good governance and clean leadership, citizens throughout Malaysia and even outside of Malaysia, want a piece of the pie in Penang. This however, has led to Penang seeing, in the recent years, a rise in property prices,” Lim said during the opening ceremony.
“The Penang State Government is clearly aware of this phenomenon and in order not to become the victims of our success, we have prioritized the provision of public and affordable housing to Penangites in particular. In this regard, I am certain all those attending this Summit, are aware of the various affordable housing guidelines that exists in Penang, whereby incentives are given to developers who partake in the state government’s affordable housing initiative,” he said.
“I would like to commend the private sector who have joined our initiative, especially having regard to the complete failure by the Federal Government to provide affordable housing to Penang under the various Federally initiated affordable housing programmes,” he said.
Lim said he remember that PM Najib Razak announcing that 9,999 units of affordable housing would be built in the constituency of Air Itam and Air Putih, his constituency on the eve of GE13. While, he said it had also clearly that proved to be but an empty promise.
To-date, he said it is disappointing to note that despite Penangites being the third highest tax payer in the country whereby last year alone, while they have paid a sum of RM6.3 billion, only a mere 2% of that amount has been re-channeled back to Penang. He added that in any event unfortunately, not a single cent, for public affordable and housing.
“This is why a Summit like this, is very important, because the Penang State Government engages with the private sector in its Public-Private Partnership mode, so as to listen to the private sector as to how we can enhance the delivery system of housing in particular, of affordable housing to Penangites,” Lim said.
“We are all ears to your constructive suggestions and inputs, and I am confident to say that the said suggestions and inputs will be taken into consideration by the State Government and may be even implemented as policies and guidelines. This is evidenced by the first PIP Summit held last year, whereby I am certain you are aware, several suggestions and inputs by the private sector had in fact not only been considered, but have been implemented,” he said.
In the last quarter of 2015, the State Government having cognizance of the economic crunch facing developers, have addressed their difficulties by allowing corporate guarantees to be accepted for payments of contributions, as opposed to bank guarantees which was hitherto the practice.
However, he said, in order to curb any form of abuse towards this guideline, they have imposed several strict conditions, which include, amongst others, the requirement for a joint and several guarantee to be submitted by the directors and shareholders of the respective companies and also for a registrar’s caveat to be entered into the lands being developed.
This is an example of how the Penang State Government is sensitive to the difficulties being faced by the developers, and it is hoped that by introducing such new measures, they will be able to continue with their affordable housing initiatives, which in turn, will generate economic growth for Penang.
Lim said Penang will continue to be an attractive place to invest in and at the same time, while the Penang State Government will continue to prioritise the provision of affordable housing to Penangites, to fulfill our aspiration of “Satu Rumah, Satu Keluarga” for Penangites.
