After DBKL defies property freeze, Pua says Putrajaya has lost control

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua claimed Putrajaya had “lost total control of its limbs” after the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) reportedly refused to implement a freeze on luxury property developments worth more than RM1 million per unit.

Pua noted that at a meeting between KL Pakatan Harapan MPs and KL Mayor Mhd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz, it was revealed that DBKL would not impose Putrajaya's directive in the Golden Triangle, as it was "infeasible".

"DBKL's in-your-face defiance of the cabinet directive freezing all high-end property developments above RM1 million per unit proves beyond doubt the BN government has lost total control of its limbs.

Pua pointed out that Bank Negara Malaysia's report had specifically highlighted that in KL and the Klang Valley alone, the office vacancy rate had increased from 20.9 percent in the first quarter of 2015 to 23.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017.

"The situation is only set to get worse with an incoming supply of additional 38 million square feet of office space," he said.

Poorly thought-out Putrajaya ban

The DAP lawmaker said DBKL's response also highlighted how poorly thought-out and impractical the Putrajaya ban was.

"Yesterday’s revelation by the DBKL mayor proved that all these acrobatics are unnecessary, since any decision by the cabinet is utterly futile. 

"If DBKL can do it, then there’s no reason why all other local councils in the country would comply with the directive," he said.

Pua said the cabinet's "impotence" had led to the current demand and supply imbalance, which Bank Negara had warned of since 2015.

The freeze was first announced by Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani last month.

However, several ministers later claimed the freeze was not absolute and would be taken on a case by case basis, despite Johari insisting otherwise.

However, the cabinet last week decided to set up a committee to hear appeals for exemptions against the freeze from developers.

Pua said apart from policy decisions on the property oversupply, the government bureaucracy also needed to be overhauled to ensure policies are carried out to the letter.

"Otherwise, you may have the world’s best policymakers and the highest-paid consultants, but all would be wasted with a government effectively run by politically-entrenched warlords and little Napoleons," he said.- Mkini