PETALING JAYA, 24 Nov 2008: The Kedah government has aborted its proposed 50% housing quota for bumiputera and reverted to the original 30% following objections from several quarters.
Kedah and Perlis Rehda chairperson Ricque Liew told The Nut Graph that Menteri Besar (MB) Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak agreed in a closed-door meeting to drop the proposal today.
Rehda is the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association.
“We are grateful that the MB finally understands our plight and the impact the proposal would make on the economy.
“We explained to him that 60% of property in Kedah were sold to bumiputera and 90% are priced below RM200,000,” Liew said in a phone interview after the meeting.
He said Azizan also agreed for Malay reserve land to be converted to freehold land so long as developers could swap the reserve land with another plot outside Alor Star.
However, the 50% bumiputera quota remains for property built on land that was formerly Malay reserve land.
Liew said the 50% quota for property on Malay reserve land was fair. “This will be a boost to the property market as well as the economy,” he said.
Azizan confirmed the abolition of the proposed 50% quota and said he had appointed his state executive councillors to work with Rehda to resolve the issue of releasing unsold bumiputera units.
“We will come up with a release mechanism soon. I think this is a win-win situation for all,” he said in a phone interview.
Liew said Rehda clarified during today’s meeting that developers are not merely interested in profits, and noted that there are no property investors in Kedah. 
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