Story by Danny Ooi
Pix by Shum Jian Wei
THE administration of Penang under the new government since 2008, based on the principles of Competence, Accountability and Transparency
(CAT), has seen a tremendous positive transformation in the state. Together with its “cleaner, greener, healthier and safer” motto, this
transformation has made Penang the most attractive state in the country to invest in, which in turn has seen an acute demand for property
not only by Penangites but also those outside Penang. This has had a bearing on the prices of properties in Penang which has seen a sharp
increase since 2008. “Towards this end, the Penang state government is making it a priority the provision of affordable housing in Penang,
announced in December, 2014, that a new category of affordable housing would be introduced in Penang.
“Further, in September 2015, the guidelines for private developers who develop 100% affordable housing was finalised,” exco for Town and
Country Planning and Housing Jagdeep Singh said in his speech at the Penang International Property Summit 2016 held on Jan 8 at Subterrenean
Penang International Convention & Exhibition Centre (SPICE).
Also present were exco for Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Chow Kon Yeow, managing director, Penevents Sdn
Bhd, Ong Ban Siang, general manager, Penang Development Corporation, Datuk Rosli Jaafar, Seberang Perai Municipal Council president Datuk
Maimunah Shariff, IJM Land Bhd senior general manager, Datuk Toh Chin Leong, Penang Institute’s chief executive officer, Dr Lim Kim Hwa and
investPenang general manager, Loo Lee Lian. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng officiated the opening ceremony.
Jagdeep said 2016, where housing is concerned in Penang, will be the year that sees delivery upon its plans for affordable housing, whereby the
first installment of affordable housing namely phase 1 of Bandar Cassia, Batu Kawan where 520 units of affordable housing is due to be completed
by the end of this year.
He said apart from the various affordable housing initiatives undertaken by the Penang state government and the private sector, the state has also
been aggressively pursuing the federal government to make good its promises via its various announcements that affordable housing will be
provided to Penang under its various affordable housing programmes.
“We also continue to pursue the federal government to approve outstanding applications for Advertising Permits and Developers Licences (APDL),
which certainly had an effect on the property market in Penang.
“According to our records, as of September, 2015, 47 applications for APDL were still outstanding, and out of these, 10 applications involved 339
units of low cost housing, 1,167 units of low-medium cost housing and 1,682 units of affordable housing.
“In fact, where this is concerned, the report by senior partner of Raine & Horne International, Michael Geh alludes to the fact that ‘this unnatural
withholding of ADPLs has affected the primary market in Penang, and as such it is hoped that the federal government will urgently process and
approve applications for ADPLs from Penang property developers,” he added.
Jagdeep said the Penang state government will continue to prioritise the provision of affordable housing for Penangites, but at the same time, it
is clear with our mega plans on transportation through the ambitious RM27 billion Penang Transport Masterplan, which will see an enhancement
in connectivity throughout the state, both on the island and the mainland.
Meanwhile, Lim in his keynote address said he dubbed 2016 as the “Transformation Year”.
“When I mentioned transformation it refers largely to the RM27 billion Transport Masterplan (TMP) – a five-in one ‘big bang’ approach towards
resolving traffic congestion involving buses, taxis, cable-car, watertaxis/ferries
and LRT/monorail. “It will also encompass transformation in the housing and property sector, whereby we see a realisation, commencing
from 2016 onwards, of the various people-centric policies that has been introduced by the Penang state government,” he added.
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