Tough for govt to influence land prices, says Guan Eng

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 1): In response to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's comment on housing prices, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said it is tough to influence the price of land, which is why the government had opted to reduce the cost of construction instead.

Lim also took a swipe at Najib, pointing out that high land prices were prevalent during the former prime minister's time as well.

"Land prices are decided by market forces. It is too big for the government to influence market prices. But what we can do is to try to save costs for housing developers.

"We hope that housing developers will give us a positive response," he said, in reference to the government's move to exempt construction services from being subject to the sales and service tax.

He said the government has given housing developers until the end of the month to respond.

He added it is only fair for developers to cut their prices given the lower construction costs due to the exemption.

Lim also touched on the RM10,000 levy for skilled foreign workers, saying that the levy is a relaxation of the existing rules imposed under the previous government.

"It's normal for companies to ask for the levy to be reduced because they want to cut down costs. But if you take into account the fact that the government wants to retain skilled workers but at the same time not have too many foreign workers staying for too long in Malaysia, I think this is a good compromise," he said.

He spoke during a press conference held in conjunction with the launch of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia, a dedicated body established by Securities Commission Malaysia to enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of corporate directors in Malaysia. — theedgemarkets.com

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