The ‘fight’ continues. Both sides are claiming the other side is wrong. Suddenly, situation seems familiar. It exists as long as there’s no transparency. Agree? read on. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the delay for Penang developers in getting the Advertising Permit and Developers Licence (APDL) is taking months. It used to take just two weeks. He said this may affect Malaysia’s competitiveness rank. Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (REHDA) Penang chapter chairman, Datuk Jerry Chan said that without APDL, developers could not start selling. This meant that the people in need of a home could not get one and other industries such as media has no business.
Slightly earlier, The Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) said the Penang state government has refused to approve their housing affordable and low cost housing projects. Its chairperson, Shabudin Yahaya said that they submitted four and Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP), had rejected one in Kepala Batas on the grounds that it did not meet the stipulated requirements. Another three has yet to get a reply. Rejection was because the units were sold above RM250,000. Perda explained that only 15% is sold above RM250,000 and this is to cover the cost of building low cost homes which was at RM80,000 but sold at just RM40,000.
I would love if both sides are really transparent instead of the “awaiting for reply” type of answer. Come on, these affordable homes would be beneficial to Penangites and those who are working there. There is little need to show ‘power’ and ‘authority’ here. Leave the political fights to political matters please. The transparency is for both to provide answer one by one, WHY the projects have not received any approval. Besides, it would need at least 3 years from data of approval before the units are ready. Thus, delaying it further meant that the number of units coming into the market is now delayed. Sigh. Not a good thing for Penang.
written on 4 Aug 2015
Next suggested article: Great problem Penang; too many affordable homes soon.
