Penang expo to showcase affordable homes

PETALING JAYA (July 30):  Penang State Housing, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), and the Election Commission (EC) will join 13 developers, at the Penang Affordable Housing Expo where a total of 6,284 units of modestly priced housing will be available. 

It will be held on Aug 18 and 19 at Prangin Mall, Penang.

Penang Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo told the Star that BNM had been invited to advise buyers on bank loans.

“As mentioned previously, getting bank loans is the biggest challenge for first-time home buyers.

“Following my meeting with Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin on June 4, meetings have been held to tweak this ‘one-fit-all’ policy imposed by commercial banks,” he said to the daily.

He also said that he hoped that all excos in Malaysia would be asked for their input prior to the unveiling of the new policy, later this year. 

Speaking to Star on a related issue, Jadgeep said the Selection Process Enhancement Committee (SPEC) has reduced the waiting period for low-cost and low medium-cost housing.

“When SPEC was formed in September 2013, there were housing applications dated all the way back to the 1970s.

“However, we have cleared most of these ‘last century applicants’, and we are now hovering at two to three years of waiting,” he said, adding that factors included the area and racial background of applicants.