On selling units for quick gains
30/01/2007 The Star

THE Government is proposing that a study be conducted to find a suitable timeframe to prevent medium-cost house buyers from selling their units upon obtaining the keys to their houses.

Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the proposal was aimed at protecting the interest of buyers, especially bumiputras, from selling their units for quick gains.

“For example, we want a timeframe to prohibit these people from selling their houses within five to 10 years,” he told newsmen after presenting keys to house buyers of the Taman Manggis Indah project in Penang recently.

Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) chairman Datuk Hilmi Abdul Rashid said the sale of low-cost and low medium-cost unit from one buyer to another had to go through a special state-level committee.

“We want to attract genuine buyers and not those merely out to make quick profits.

“It is difficult to determine their sincerity as the people at the registration counter come from various backgrounds,” he added.

The event saw 229 buyers receiving their keys for the RM18mil Perda project which features 145 medium-cost terrace houses, 14 medium-cost semi-detached houses, 54 cluster houses, 16 shophouses, a surau, a community hall and a hawker site.

The units cost between RM78,000 and RM208,000 each.