The Ministry of Housing and Local Government has recently launched the Housing Revival Initiative (HRI). This new government initiative seeks to bring remedy to the current 136 abandoned housing projects, affecting 30,576 house buyers nationwide.

Minister of the Housing and Local Government Dato’ Seri Kong Cho Ha, who officiated the ceremony said, of the 136 abandoned housing projects, 87 projects listed are still deemed viable to be revived during this initial phase of this initiative, urging corporate organizations to undertake the revival of the abandoned projects while the Ministry functions as the primary mediator.

 

Besides proposing that the revived project be named after the corporate group responsible for its completion, a green lane will also be set up for the corporate organizations involved, to assist the organization in all its future dealings with the Ministry, Kong added.

With the emphasis on a citizen-centric approach, the HRI is introduced in conjunction with the establishment of the Special Task Force (STF) to revive abandoned housing projects. The STF aims to draw together the various sectors of the housing industry to generate ideas, approaches and strategies in hopes to accomplish quantum leap improvements of the local housing delivery system.

 

In conjunction with this initiative, the Ministry has also renewed the efforts to educate the public as to their rights as house buyers and on the housing regulation process through a series of informative articles published in all mainstream newspapers. 

 

The Ministry is, at the same time, exploring various new concepts related to the housing industry that is applicable within the local context. The many variants of the Build-Then-Sell concept are being studied to assess its sustainability and practicality. Furthermore, the Ministry is deliberating upon an insurance scheme aimed at protecting house buyers against failure of projects to complete. The National Housing Policy is also in the pipeline.

                                                                                         

Kong added he believes that the construction industry has to make a shift towards a more citizen-centric approach in accordance with the One Malaysia concept. In making this effort worthwhile, it requires the participation of both Government and Private Corporations. Ideally, in a connected government, both private and public sector should work together to create changes for a better standard of living for all Malaysians.