The prime minister wants more Malaysians to own houses and he also explains why the government cannot fork out more money for petrol subsidy.
VIDEO INSIDE
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak took to Youtube to answer queries regarding housing and petrol subsidies posed to him via social networking site Facebook.
Najib said that his administration had intervened in the housing sector to reduce speculation and increase home ownership among Malaysians.
“If the government doesn’t intervene, housing prices will continue to rise. The government wants to increase house ownership to reduce speculation.
“That is why we are reintroducing real property gains tax,” he said in response to a question from his Facebook friend who complained that it was difficult to own a house.
The tax was meant for those wanting to own second homes and the deposit amounts would be increased.
The prime minister also explained that the government would be increasing the number of houses via two projects.
“The people’s housing project (PPR) is meant for the poor whereas the 1Malaysia Housing project (PR1MA) are for those earning RM5,000 and below,” he said.
The PR1MA project would be made up houses ranging in the region of RM350,000 to RM400,000.
Najib added that there was also a new policy for qualified house buyers earning RM5,000 or less.
Under the policy, first time house buyers need not pay deposit and would be able to obtain 100% housing loans.
Petrol subsidy
Meanwhile, in a second video clip, Najib explained the issues surrounding petrol subsidy.
“The government offers a large amount of subsidy of more than RM2 billion on a monthly basis. We can’t afford to pay higher subsidy because we want to use petrol wealth for economic growth.
“If we spend all on subsidy, it will increase consumption and we cannot build our productive assets for the future,” he said.
He also explained that Malaysian petroleum was more suitable for the international market resulting in Malaysia importing petroleum from the Middle East.
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