By Ling Hui
BINTULU, Nov 13: Private developers in Bintulu are urged to consider only having a 20 to 30 per cent overall gross profit to make houses more affordable for the people.
Incumbent Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing said this when addressing the soaring house prices in Bintulu where an average intermediate house can easily cost more than RM500,000.
He said some irresponsible developers may on the surface tell the public they are suffering losses due to certain reasons, but in actuality are enjoying a hundred per cent profit for each unit sold.
“I would like to urge the developers to consider reducing their profits because I’ve been in the developers’ industry. So I know how much is the cost of one unit of house,” he said.
Tiong, who is also Dudong assemblyman, said he would like to discuss with the Premier about disrupting real estate prices in Bintulu after the 15th general election (GE15).
He said he would propose for the Sarawak government to take the lead by building affordable houses on Bintulu urban land that is mostly owned by private sectors.
“I want to sit down with the Premier to go through (and see) if there are any (private) lands left idle (in Bintulu).
“If the land cannot be used for agriculture, then we can develop together (through joint ventures),” he told DayakDaily in an exclusive interview at Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) Bintulu service centre recently.
For house prices in Bintulu to come down, Tiong stressed that both the government and private sectors must work together hand in hand. — DayakDaily
