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KUCHING (Sept 23): Sarawak would not adopt the move by the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government to allow private housing developers to give loans to homebuyers, Bernama reported yesterday.
Deputy chief minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Abang Haji Openg feels that such a move could pose a financial risk to the developers and such a plan may not be sustainable in the long-term.
He said such a programme may also increase the cost of end-financing, distract developers from carrying out their core business, while exposing them to borrower default risk if the homebuyers' credit-worthiness is not up to par.
"To ensure responsible lending, it would be better and more prudent for the perspective house buyers to secure their loans from established banks and financial institution," he said in a media conference at the Land Custody and Development Authority office at Wisma Satok, yesterday.
Abang Johari said that Sarawak has set up Mutiara Mortgage and Credit Sdn Bhd, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Housing Development Corp (HDC), to provide loans to the low-income group, and it focuses on loans to public housing project under the Public Housing Program (PPR) and HDC's affordable housing projects, Bernama reported.
"This lending agency would be a better alternative for those prospective housebuyers who have difficulty in securing loans from banks. However, Mutiara Mortgage and Credit Sdn Bhd will follow the bank loan management standards in processing the loan applications while giving some flexibility to deserving and qualified applicants," he said.
He said the authorities will also continue to intensify efforts to implement public initiatives such as PR1MA projects, PPR, 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing Program, People Friendly Housing Scheme and MyHome Program.
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