Rehda wants an automated release mechanism for unsold bumi-lots

PETALING JAYA: The Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Malaysia is urging the government to adopt an automatic release mechanism for properties allocated under bumiputra quotas to be sold to the general public.

According to its president Datuk NK Tong, as land is a state matter, there was no countrywide mechanism to regulate the imposition of bumiputra quotas.

“Many developers have fulfilled the necessary requirements of advertising the bumiputra units for sale over the required number of times for the required period, yet sales to bumiputra are still not forthcoming.

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“In cases such as these, the developers should not be punished with further requirements to do so and there should be an automatic release mechanism for these units to be sold,” he said in a statement.

Tong added that there were unintended consequences to not having an automatic release, including the increase in the number of completed but unsold units.

“A more subtle unintended consequence is to increase the prices of housing for all rakyat, including for bumiputra, as the holding costs of these unsold units get passed on.

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“Most concerning, is the delayed effect, but real risk, that these unsold units may cause cash flow problems leading to late, sick or abandoned projects,” he said.

Should developers be found to have sold bumiputra quota units to non-bumiputra purchasers prior to obtaining the state consent the authorities can and should take action against these developers, he said.

“We also appeal to state governments not to punish innocent homebuyers with penalties for unknowingly buying Bumiputera units from such errant developers.”

Tong was responding to recent reports that the Selangor government was looking to blacklist errant developers who have not complied with the bumiputra quota requirements.

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It was the latest in a series of reports by StarMetro highlighting cases of developers who sold bumiputra units to non-bumiputra buyers without going through the proper process.