Latest news with #SabahHousingandRealEstateDevelopersAssociation
Daily Express
27-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Express
Uncontested Johnny Wong leads Shareda
Published on: Tuesday, May 27, 2025 Published on: Tue, May 27, 2025 By: Hayati Dzulkifli Text Size: Chua (third right, seated) showing thumbs up with Shareda's new elected president Datuk Johnny Wong and its new Council members 2025-2027. Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) announced that Datuk Johnny Wong Chen Yee will helm the association as President for the 2025–2027 term, following an uncontested election held in its 37th AGM here on Saturday. Its Immediate Past President Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping said this year's Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held as a full physical event, in line with the requirement for a voting process to elect new office bearers and deliberate motions. However, he said when the nomination period officially closed on May 8, all candidates for the upcoming term, including the incoming President and his council team, were confirmed unopposed. 'I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our incoming President-elect 2025-2027, Datuk Johnny Wong Chen Yee, who will be taking over the helm. 'His uncontested election — along with the return of his entire team — clearly reflects the membership's confidence and trust in his leadership and vision,' said Chua. He said Johnny will officially assume office alongside his newly confirmed council team, taking over the reins as Shareda continues to address industry challenges and build collaborative ties between developers, government and the community. Advertisement 'I am confident that under his (Johnny) stewardship, our Association will continue to reach greater heights,' Chua said. The transition signals continuity and stability for Shareda as it moves forward with its mission of promoting responsible and sustainable development across Sabah's real estate sector. Over the past term (2023-2025), Chua said Shareda had made significant progress on several key fronts and achieved some good results. 'First was the implementation of a new policy on house lot ownership by Bumiputera status buyers which was approved by the Sabah Cabinet, with effect on Dec 1, 2024. 'There are four key policy changes as below: 30pc allocation to Bumiputera buyers – Developers must allocate 30pc of houses to Bumiputera buyers who can now choose their house lot. Developers will report sales every six month Discounts for bumiputera buyers – A 5pc discount remains, with any additional discounts to non-Bumiputera buyers added to this total (e.g. 15pc discounts to non-Bumiputera = 20pc for Bumiputera buyers). The most glaring key policy is the Abolition of Re-sale Restriction – Bumiputera buyers can re-sell their homes freely without approval. Pre-existing restrictions can be lifted upon applications. Conditions for releasing 30pc Quota – The release application can only be considered after the housing development has reached the level of 50pc completion for landed property development or 20pc completion for high-rise building development. Chua said these new changes are applicable for Ministry of Local Government and Housing (KKTP) Advertisement Permit and Developer's Licence (APDL) licences ONLY and not for Native Titles (NT). Another change was based on KKTP's Circular No. 1/2025, a new implementation policy for Affordable Housing (AH) approved by the Sabah Cabinet meeting Series 04/2025, this year. 'We achieved alignment of Sabah's AH guidelines with the Federal specifications – a significant step in ensuring housing development in Sabah meets equitable and sustainable standards. 'This puts us on a more level playing field with West Malaysia and provides clarity to both developers and planners. 'Based on the circular under Schedule A, there are different range of affordable housing prices based on the areas - the housing prices in rural areas cannot be more than RM220,000, housing prices in suburb or City outskirts must not be more than RM300,000 while in the City area, the housing prices cannot be more than RM380,000. 'As for the built-up area of the AH house has been set at a maximum of 850 sq ft with three rooms and two bathrooms,' Chua said. He said there was also a new set of guidelines for Sabah-Malaysia My Second Home (Sabah-MM2H)– Acquisition of properties in Sabah to foreign investors, which was tailored for Sabah, aligning them more closely with national standards to ensure Sabah does not miss out on this economic opportunity. He said there is a website link: to get more information on the guidelines.
Daily Express
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
Shareda unable to build PPR units due to squatters
Published on: Monday, May 26, 2025 Published on: Mon, May 26, 2025 By: Hayati Dzulkifli Text Size: Chua said squatter issues are not confined to Sepanggar. - Pic (right) for illustration only. Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) is unable to proceed with plans to build thousands of People's Housing Programme (PPR) units in Sepanggar due to unresolved squatter issues on the allocated 70-acre site. Immediate Past President Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping said under the agreement with the State Government last year, Shareda is supposed to provide basic housing for B40 people in the State. However, the site is occupied by thousands of squatters who need to be evicted first. He said only political can solve the problem for the B40. 'We still want to do this project. But the huge presence of squatters is the biggest problem in some of the areas. 'The site is occupied by squatters where some are locals but mostly illegals. Shareda cannot evict them. Support from DBKK, civil authorities and the state government is needed to move out the squatters. Advertisement 'Eviction isn't something the private sector can carry out. It must be a coordinated, humane process and have to find alternative accommodation, which is beyond us (Shareda),' he said. Chua said this at a press conference after Shareda's 32nd annual meeting which saw the election of new President Datuk Johnny Wong Chen Yee, Saturday. He was commenting on the status of the project to build affordable housing including PPR units in Sabah to complement noble efforts of national government to build 500,000 PPR units of houses for B40 people in the country by year 2025. Chua said a government task force meant to address the situation but had yet to be formed. 'The Chief Minister and the State Secretary (SKN) have to initiate it. 'The site is State land currently under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry and must be rezoned to be used for building affordable housing before building the PPR units can begin,' he said. Despite these setbacks, Chua reaffirmed Shareda's commitment to seeing the project through. 'We are eager to start, but political will is essential. We're working behind the scenes to assist where we can,' he said. Chua also disclosed a recent federal government decision to raise the ceiling price for affordable homes (PPR units) from RM300,000 to RM380,000. 'It's due to escalating building material costs. The unit size remains at 850 square feet, but construction feasibility required the price revision. 'It's not just in Sabah, its whole Malaysia,' he said, adding that the new limit applies to urban (bandar) areas with definitions still pending clarification. Chua said squatter issues are not confined to Sepanggar. 'Even in Tuaran and foreshore reserves, squatter settlements have become a recurring problem. They often return after eviction 'While some of the squatters are local, the majority are not, which adds to the complexity. This is a bottleneck problem that cannot be solved overnight,' he said.
Daily Express
28-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Express
‘Hefty fines better than jailing errant builders'
Published on: Monday, April 28, 2025 Published on: Mon, Apr 28, 2025 By: Hayati Dzulkifli Text Size: Roland (third right) witnessing the MoU signing ceremony, alongside Chua (second right), Johnny (right), David (third left) and Chin. Kota Kinabalu: Heavy fine is more appropriate than jail for developers of abandoned housing projects in Sabah. According to Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) President Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping, jailing them would not help homebuyers recover their losses. Instead, ordering them to pay hefty fines in millions of Ringgit would directly compensate buyers' losses in repaying housing loans. 'When housing projects are abandoned, we (Shareda) are of the view that the punishment should not be imprisonment, because if we put the errant developers in prison and make them bankrupt, then they have no money to pay the affected homebuyers. 'Some developers may even prefer to be in jail to avoid paying the fines. Therefore, fine them two or three million and use that money to compensate the buyers. You imprison the developer(s), the buyer gets nothing.' Shareda did propose penalties to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, but the latter wanted to standardise the jail term provision with the Federal law for the offence. Chua said this after signing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between Shareda and GreenRE Sdn Bhd and Shareda with the Borneo International Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (BICAM) at Baysuite, Likas Bay, here. He was commenting on a recent amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) (Amendment) Enactment 2023, passed in the State Assembly on April 17, 2025. The approved amendment saw the maximum jail term for errant developers revised from five years to three – a move that sparked debate, with some viewing it as a reduction in punishment. He claimed the adjustment was not a reduction in penalty but a 'rectification,' aligning Sabah's laws with the national standard already practised in Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur. 'It was never supposed to be five years. That was a mistake passed last year. Now it is corrected to three years, consistent with the rest of the country,' he said, when asked to comment to criticism from several assembly members who argued for the five-year jail sentence to be maintained. Chua also said imposing jail which is criminal punishment could also push developers away from building residential homes and impose risks which discourage them from engaging in residential projects. 'Developers may consider not to build residential projects anymore as too risky under these laws. Instead, Many are shifting to commercial, industrial or tourism projects,' he said, although he has never seen a developer being prisoned for abandoning housing projects in the country. While supporting regulations to protect buyers, he said Shareda believes the current legal framework could turn unintentional business failures into criminal acts. 'Many cases of project abandonment are caused by circumstances beyond developers' control such as economic downturns, tariffs, or global disruptions like the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Every businessman wants to complete the (housing) project and make a profit. Nobody benefits from abandoning a development,' he said, adding that some rogue developers, mostly from peninsula and Sarawak, who are not Shareda members, have tarnished the industry. On another important amendment, Chua said the Minister is empowered to exclude bodies or agencies under the control of the Local Government and Housing Ministry or Federal government from any or all provision of the Enactment. 'Previously, agencies including Lembaga Pembangunan Perumahan dan Bandar (LPPB) can be charged for incomplete or abandoned housing projects 'After the passing of the Bill, the key change involves exempting LPBB (Lembaga Pembangunan Perumahan dan Bandar), a government-linked company (GLC) tasked with developing affordable housing, from being criminally charged if their projects are abandoned. 'The exemption was necessary because LPBB operates under high risk due to the nature of affordable housing projects. 'If civil servants working in a GLC could be imprisoned, nobody would want to work there, it may seem unfair, but there's no choice,' he said. Chua added that LPBB had appealed to the Chief Minister for this protection, warning that without it, staffing and completing government-backed affordable housing projects would become even more difficult. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
