House discount cancelled

GEORGE TOWN: Two days after announcing a 5% discount for Indian Muslim homebuyers in Penang, the offer was rescinded in a state government U-turn.
The proposal is now back on the drawing board after Penang DAP chairman Steven Sim raised the issue with Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
Although the discount was intended to boost demand for unsold new properties in Penang, state MCA secretary Yeoh Chin Kah criticised the move as racially divisive.
By offering the privilege only to Indian Muslims, Yeoh questioned whether it amounted to a new form of racial quota.
'The people of Penang cannot accept this policy and condemn it for dividing the races,' he said.
Yeoh questioned why the Penang government could not base its housing policy on econo­mic status rather than race and religion, expressing confusion that DAP, a party advocating for a 'Malaysian Malaysia', would introduce such a racially framed initiative.
'Don't low-income groups who are not Indian Muslims also need assistance? Shouldn't struggling families be treated equally and helped regardless of background?' he added.
Penang Hindu Association presi­dent Datuk P. Murugiah said that if there is an overhang of properties in the state, offering a discount to only one ethnic group is unfair.
'The discount should be for all Penangites regardless of race, especially the B40 and M40 groups, with priority given to B40 families,' he said.
Murugiah said the privilege should, rightly, even be extended to anyone born in Penang.
Sim, in a statement yesterday announcing that Chow had agreed to suspend the discount offer pending a review by the state executive council, emphasised the importance of upholding social justice and ensuring every Malaysian's right to own a home.
'I take note of the public feedback regarding the 5% discount given to the Indian Muslim community only for the purchase of unsold (overhanging) new property units in Penang,' he said.
Sim said he had discussed the matter with Chow, who agreed to bring it up for review and discussion at the upcoming state executive council meeting.
About an hour earlier, state housing and environment committee chairman Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo had again announced that from June 1 this year until May 31 next year, developers would be encouraged to offer Indian ­Mus­lims who are first-time homebuyers a 5% discount.
He first made the announcement on June 5.
Sundarajoo said the decision was made during yesterday's meeting of the state executive council and the state planning committee meeting on Tuesday, following discussions with housing industry stakeholders.
He added that the discount excludes bumiputra quota units and does not affect existing housing policies.
The provision of the discount is based on developers' corporate social responsibility and does not involve financial support or subsidies from the state government.
The provision of the discount relies on the corporate social res­ponsibility of the developers and does not include any financial support or subsidies from the state government.
Sundarajoo said that, based on the Penang Property Market Report for the fourth quarter of 2024 by the National Property Information Centre, 2,796 residential units have been identified as overhung, involving various property types across the state.
He described the number of unsold new affordable housing units in Penang as worrying, adding that the discount was an intervention by the state to help revitalise the housing sector.

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