cheahsoonhai

Gerakan supports move to increase income limit for SRP to RM5000

Cheah Soon Hai urges government to build more
affordable houses

 
 

Press statement by

Gerakan Central Bureau on Environment, Safety and Quality of Life Chairman

Dr Cheah Soon Hai

 
 

7 January 2013

 
 

Gerakan Central Bureau on Environment, Safety and Quality of Life Chairman, Dr Cheah Soon Hai supports the government's recent move to increase the income limit for home applicants under the My First Home Scheme (SRP) to RM5000 and RM10000 for per household income.

 
 

"The government deserves applause for increasing the income limit to provide an opportunity to more young people to own a home. However, there is much more need to be done as handlings of one problem bring the rise of another relate problem."

 
 

Cheah pointed out that one of the drawbacks with the announcement above would be income earners below RM3000 might get less attention by banks due to the lower pay grade received by this group and therefore being categorised as being more risky to defaulting payments.

 
 

"I am worried that, banks will be more focused on the higher income earners in this scheme just because they are more financially stable and this group of earning RM3000 - RM5000 might swallow a large amount of affordable houses meant for those earning below RM3000. In the end it is the low middle-income earners who have to suffer again. Another group who might be left out are fresh graduates due to the fact that their starting pay is mostly below RM3000 and most of them come from outside the big cities. Therefore those who earn below RM3000 not only have to compete among themselves for a decent home but now also against those earning RM3000 - RM5000 putting enormous pressure on their life."

 
 

Cheah. also Kedah Derga State Assemblyman commented that the government should ensure that affordable houses built are located near to the city as it has become the magnet of many workers. Therefore it would be irrational to build affordable housing but with the location at city outskirts.

 
 

"It doesn't make sense to built houses far away from the city because buyers are forced to commute a long distance between their home and workplace putting a burden on their petrol bill as it is undeniable that our public transport system is one big mess. I mean who wants to travel 50km per day to their workplace?"

 
 

Finally, he urged to government to increase the amount of affordable houses to cope with the rising house price due to speculations and amount of young people entering the workforce every year.