Prices fixed for houses on state land

12/12/2002 The Star

IPOH: Developers building double-storey houses and shophouses on state land will have to sell them at RM100,000 and RM150,000 respectively from next year so that bumiputras can afford them. 

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali said the state government decided to fix the prices for such units as there were many cases where bumiputras could not buy the houses reserved for them. 

He said bumiputras, mainly government servants, with low income were not able to purchase expensive houses. 

“We are also fixing the prices for the sake of developers who have to wait for a long time before they are able to open the offer to non-bumiputras,” he said. 

The unsold units would be offered to non-bumiputras after six months, he told reporters after chairing the state exco meeting here yesterday. 

On reports about limiting the number of recipients getting awards, Tajol Rosli said he would meet Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah soon to discuss the issue.  

He said the state government would normally recommend the names for the awards but the final decision was up to the Sultan. 

“The state government’s criteria include selecting those in Grade C to receive the titles. 

“Even district officers are recommended only when they are retiring because the juniors may get transferred to another state while their superior may not be a Datuk,” Tajol Rosli said, adding that executive councillors were given priority while state assemblymen would get the awards only if they were seniors.