Penang gov't denies claims Chinese nationals bought homes below MM2H threshold

GEORGE TOWN (May 14): The Penang government today denied claims that Chinese nationals had bought hundreds of homes in the state below the minimum price threshold set under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.

State Housing and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Seri S Sundarajoo (pictured) said the allegation was based on an inaccurate interpretation of  the property transaction data involving foreign buyers in Penang for 2025.

He said records from the Land and Mines Office showed that out of 365 property units involving foreign buyers in the state, only 15 units were sold at prices between RM400,000 and RM1.5 million under the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) approved by the state authorities.

“The calculation of the average selling price of RM411,506 as claimed does not reflect the actual situation,” he told reporters at the State Legislative Assembly building here today.

Seberang Jaya assemblyman Izhar Shah Arif Shah was reported yesterday as saying that Chinese nationals owned 365 houses in Penang with a total value of RM150.2 million, equivalent to an average of RM411,506 per unit.

Sundarajoo said the state government had implemented the HOC and the Penang Property Sector Stimulus Policy from 2020 until 2024 to revive the property sector affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the move followed a sharp increase in completed unsold or overhang property units nationwide, including in Penang, which recorded 5,222 units at the time based on data from the National Property Information Centre.

Under the HOC, the state government introduced several targeted incentives, including lowering the minimum price threshold for property purchases by foreign nationals to help clear overhang units, a 50% reduction in Approval Fees and lower Foreign Purchaser Levy charges.

“However, this HOC policy ended in December 2024 and the property sale value rates for foreign nationals have since been reverted to the original rates under the Penang State Guidelines on Property Acquisition by Non-Citizens or Foreign Companies currently in force,” he said.

He added that all approvals involving property purchases by foreign nationals were carried out transparently and subject to the consideration and approval of the state authorities.

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