cheahsoonhai

New policy to limit ownership to locals

ALOR SETAR: Kedah will be the first state to limit the sale of houses to locals if its new housing policy is approved by the PAS-led state government.

Kedah Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang said the state would limit local buyers to houses in Kuala Muda and Kulim only.

"This means that non-Kedahans will not be allowed to buy houses in these two districts but consideration will only be given to those who stayed or worked there.

"The land office in Kuala Muda and Kulim will also closely monitor the land title transfer of the houses with priority given to Kedahans," he told a press conference yesterday.

Tan said the new policy would "kill" property development in the state, adding that this would give investors a negative perception.

"This is the third issue we have learnt from the new policy. The first was that developers are required to allocate up to 60% of a housing project for affordable homes, and the state government controls the housing prices."

Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak said the state executive council had yet to discuss the new policy.

"It is only now being discussed at the housing committee level. The state wishes to amend the housing policy so that locals will be given the priority to own property.

"We do not want Kedah to become a state where the houses are owned by outsiders while the locals still live in dilapidated homes or are homeless," he said.