From house owners to house tenants in one decade

Rent, instead of buying properties, minister tells the young

Commentable: Next, ministers like Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani will tell Malaysians not to get married, not to have kids until they are ready and can afford it.

For the past five years or so, major cities have seen exponential construction of everything conceivable; malls, shops, condos, houses, etc.

The rush to build and the rush by speculators to buy caused a huge inflation of property prices. This trend triggered a spike in corruption, as exposed recently involving top people in DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) and Johor’s state cabinet.

Three factors may affect the current high price of residential properties:

1. Corruption (the costs of which although not tangibly seen but is surely factored into the sale price of the property sold by developers).

2. Lack of political willpower by the government to keep property prices in check (for reasons they know best).

3. Greedy buyers speculating on properties by buying multiple units at one go. So let’s not blame it on high fuel prices, construction materials, etc.

Analliar: Instead of behaving like a responsible and caring government, the minister is teaching our young people not to aspire for bigger things.

Instead of helping them to earn better income and be able to afford the purchase of houses, he is asking them to give up that dream.

Houses would never get cheaper – if they don’t buy earlier, it would become even worse.

Mushiro: Indeed, Johari is wrong to encourage young workers to rent, as houses will be beyond their reach at a later age.

The government should speed up, improve and revamp PR1MA (1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme) and make houses more affordable to these young workers.

Vent: Minister, since you must have a large house as most other ministers do, why don’t you help deserving youth by renting out the rooms in your house and getting your children to rent houses in Pantai Dalam, Kerinchi and Chow Kit.

You will then have a first-hand experience on what it is like to live in cheap, rented quarters.

Anonymous #44199885: Singapore embarked on making sure that its citizens had access to affordable housing of quality as part of its plan to become a developed nation.

It did this from the beginning as the right to have a roof over one’s head and family is a basic need and no one should be left homeless. That is a country that has no natural resources, no sizeable land and a small population.

Malaysia was a country rich with resources and with sizeable landbank and population, and yet while Singapore kept up with ensuring its citizens needs were met, we have been failing.

Singaporeans may complain of the high cost of living, etc, but their government worked hard to put in place a system of governance to ensure that Singaporeans have, and will always have, a future.

We may not agree with all of Singapore government’s policies but there is no systemic failure there, and almost zero corruption.

Anonymous 2460391489930458: Unbelievable! Instead of tackling the problems faced by the younger generation to own a home, the minister tells them to not own a home.

How convenient indeed. Even then, Mr Finance Minister II, do you know how many renters/tenants are facing difficulties paying their monthly rent?

As a property agent, let me tell you that many tenants are being evicted as they can’t meet their monthly rental payments. The economy is that sick.

Your job as finance minister is to facilitate economic recovery, not paying lip service to the people.

Kleeo: Young people need to think outside the box and consider the advantages that renting provides – greater mobility, greater savings diversification, less financial risk.

You don’t need to own a home if it is a life arrangement that won’t work for you. And if you think that everyone deserves to own a home, you need only think about what would happen when the world hits 8.5 billion people in 2030, and 9.7 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100.

Deforestation and landscape degradation is already severe now as it is. We need to take steps to manage our human population, and move towards vertical development (high-rise) in sustainable cities. That requires a government with foresight.

Goks: For once I agree with the minister, it’s stupid to rush in to buy properties when you are financially not stable.

Vision2020: Johari’s suggestion on asking younger generation to rent instead of owning a house is akin to what is happening to Felda’s younger generations who could not own their plantation lands but must be subservient to corporate FGV (Felda Global Ventures) for their livelihood, welfare and survival.

Anonymous #37634848: A few decades ago, a terrace house was only RM40,000 to RM50,000. A three-bedroom flat in the city was only around RM30,000, but now it is as much as RM500,000.

Income has not increased in proportion to the rise in property value. This means that young people can never own a house in the future.

The government has to build affordable houses and perhaps introduce the old “rent and own” system. House prices should be fixed and the rent, say over 20 years, is set off against the fixed purchase price. This can help young people own a house.

Anonymous 1869301444031055: If we cancel ECRL (East Coast Railway Line) and HSR (High Speed Railway), we can easily built 550,000 units of affordable home at RM150,000 per unit.

For 550,000 units divided by 13 states, each states would have 43,000 units of affordable homes.

In Germany rents are controlled, can M’sia emulate that?

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