By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 10: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) has put forward a proposal to the Sarawak government to address housing challenges faced by locals by suggesting that the government provide RM1 million to every adult Sarawakian interested in purchasing a house.
Under the proposal, its president, Voon Lee Shan, in a statement, also recommended that for those who have existing mortgages on properties they’ve purchased, the government should help clear these debts, with maximum assistance of RM1 million per individual.
However, he stressed that the funds should not be given directly to the recipients’ personal bank accounts. Instead, the money would be directed towards developers and banks to clear outstanding mortgages or complete the purchase of homes.
He added that housing developers could not overcharge or simply raise the prices of houses they develop once funds are released for these houses.
A mechanism must be found before housing developers are eligible to participate in the scheme, and banks may have to be required to write off or reduce the interest rates, he said.
“According to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Sarawak received over RM96 billion as of 2024 in financial benefits from its oil and gas (O&G) industry.
“This includes RM49 billion in cash payment. Sarawak also received RM18.66 billion in Sales Tax as of the third quarter of last year. Sarawak is also able to inject about RM600 million annually into the sovereign wealth fund. This shows Sarawak is a rich State,” he said.
However, he said that since Sarawak helped form Malaysia in 1963, housing is still a problem faced by many of its people.
Voon went on to say that housing is a need and fundamental human right and that the Sarawak government should intervene to solve these problems. — DayakDaily
