KUALA LUMPUR: The success of Singapore's Housing & Development Board (HDB) to provide public housing for 80 per cent of its citizens has motivated the Local Government Development Ministry to consult its experts as well as other foreign experts in its effort to build more affordable homes in Malaysia.
The ministry, in a statement, today said: "The ministry will examine case studies for best practices on housing policies in other countries including neighbouring countries such as Singapore that have shown success in providing the public with affordable housing.
"This will allow the new National Housing Policy to take into account the various needs of the people according to their culture, customs, religions and scenarios of the multi-racial society in the country.
"We will also hold a knowledge-sharing session with housing experts from Singapore to discuss affordable housing management.
"This is to strengthen the country's housing development strategy based on the six core values of Madani, namely kemampanan (sustainability), kesejahteraan (prosperity), dayacipta (innovation), hormat (respect), keyakinan (trust) and ihsan (compassion)," it said.
Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming had earlier said the Singaporean government had given its nod for HDB flat contractors to visit his ministry next month to share their knowledge on building affordable homes in Malaysia.
Former Penang Island municipal councillor Iszuree Ibrahim on Jan 21 questioned Nga's plan to "consult" Singapore's HDB.
After the 13th General Election, the Penang Pas secretary alleged that all Malay villages in Penang were gone and condominiums were built.
On a related matter, the ministry said that through the new housing policy and more organised planning, as well as with the cooperation of all housing agencies at the federal and state levels, as well as developers, it would be able to achieve the target of providing 500,000 affordable houses by 2025.
"The ministry is prepared to review existing initiatives, find new incentive opportunities and facilitate all forms of procedures in the approval of housing development so as to give space for active participation by private housing developers to provide affordable houses that are of quality for the people."