By SIRA HABIBU
ALOR STAR: The Kedah government is sticking to its new policy of having a 50% bumiputra quota in housing schemes in the state despite dissatisfaction expressed by developers.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak said the state introduced the policy to compel developers to build affordable homes for all Kedahans.
“If the developers are not happy, they are welcome to present their arguments.
“We have our rationale for the policy and our priority is the people’s needs. We want to make sure all Kedahans can afford to buy a house,” he said yesterday.
Several politicians, including those from the DAP and Gerakan, recently highlighted in the media the dissatisfaction of developers over the policy, which took effect on Sept 1. The previous quota was 30%.
Azizan said houses should be built according to the people’s needs, and not merely to fill up the profit chart of developers.
“That is why we introduced this policy to ensure that more affordable homes are built to cater to the needs of the majority who cannot afford to buy high-end housing units,” he added.
“This is not about race. This is about the reality on the ground. The majority of the people in the state happen to be Malays. We do not want the houses built in Kedah to be beyond the reach of Kedahans as the majority of them are not high-income earners.
“We also want all races, including the Chinese and Indians, to enjoy affordable houses,” he said.
State executive councillor Datuk Phahrolrazi Mohd Zawawi had recently said that the new quota system was imposed to avert racial polarisation as most new housing schemes were occupied by only certain races.
He had said such development was not healthy as it was inconsistent with the national objective to promote racial integration.
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