In Malaysia, possession of fire arms and bullets is a serious crime punishable by death. Howeve, instead of the person who obtained M-16 bullets and mailed them as threats, the intellectually superior recipient was the one hauled up by the police.
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/2010/09/cops-grill-tony-pua-over-bumi-house.html
"They asked me to recap what I said, and I explained that I was referring to the discounts for luxury residential properties (for bumiputras) to be stopped and that these benefits be channelled to the poor instead," he added.
If a person democratically elected to participate in policy formulation of the country can even be hauled up for posing a suggestion on this particular topic, then what about articulating and implementing a firm decision pertaining to the same topic?
UDA Chairman Nur Jazlan mentioned the following salient points (copied verbatim from the article) in The Business Times, Singapore edition.
(The full article is appended below and note subsequently the Bernama article which seems to omit a lot of stuff reported by the Singapore press vis-a-vis the PM and the BTN Deputy Director's concurrent speeches)
IT CAN no longer subsidise its bumiputra agenda without considering returns on investment, said the head of a Malaysian government agency that is supposed to raise bumiputra real estate ownership in urban areas.
- hence UDA has departed from its original aim and who are responsible for this shift?
Read further below and the answer is
Previously a state mandated authority, UDA was listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 1996 only to be privatised about 10 years later.
As it is no longer a state mandated authority, but a privatised agency owned by the Minister of Finance, the government cannot subsidise its bumiputra agenda by direct allocations regularly. Its tight fiscal position is another factor.
You tell me who shifted UDA's emphasis from its original aim then.
So what's the new ball game?
Now, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) will instead make profitability a greater consideration by reviewing bumiputra quotas and pitching its products to non-Malays.
Profit, profit, profit (and where does the profit is channel to, I wonder) plus.....
'This new economic reality forces UDA to depart from the usual practice of setting fixed quotas for bumiputra ownership in our projects . . . Its business model now will have a more optimal mix of purchasers with greater purchasing power to ensure future appreciation of the value of the properties.'
I don't think Malays will feel too left out as the article quoted him as saying
'Bumiputras today have money to buy expensive properties,' he told BT, noting in one of its housing projects in Kuala Lumpur, bungalow lots went for RM1.7 million but 90 per cent of the buyers were bumiputras, or mainly ethnic Malays who receive discounts for property purchases under the government's affirmative action policies.
I believe the Malays purchasers above fall into the following categories:
1) self made millionaires who on merit able to afford such houses for their loved ones
2) recipients of government projects hence already received aid once, so is there a need for double whammy?
Compare 1) and 2) above to Muthu, Letchumy, Ah Beng, Ah Lian, Mohd and Siti who are on RM150 or RM300 per month from Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat....now who has more pressing needs and deserve assistance?
Now UDA, after departing from its original aim to assist bumi ownership in urban area, has also abolish the traditional quota as seen in the last sentence below
Mr Nur Jazlan said that UDA would look to build 'higher-value properties' which may be beyond the reach of the average middle-income bumiputra but not necessarily richer bumiputras. But because there might not be sufficient bumiputra purchasers for a mixed development of that scale - its estimated gross development value is RM5 billion (S$2.1 billion) - UDA does not plan to set a quota on the level of bumiputra ownership as it wants the project to be financially feasible
In a manner reminding me of Tony Pua's suggestion, Nur Jazlan added that
'I understand that there could be many bumiputras who might be unhappy at the reduction of bumi ownership and thus bumi participation in the project. But this can be fulfilled in other ways by awarding contracts to competent bumiputras in construction and consultancy works.
Now I do see some similarities in what UDA is doing and what Tony P is saying. Should the PDRM at least clarify this with UDA?
If Perkasa is free to visit Chinese Assembly Hall over a certain rapper, surely they can spare some time to visit UDA's office as well. Land and building may seem a bit more important than somemusic video you can't even buy its DVD off the shelf of supermarkets.
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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,406077,00.html?
Published September 29, 2010
Govt agency veers from bumiputra agenda
UDA chairman: soaring land costs forcing it to become market-driven to ensure its financial viability in long run
By PAULINE NG
IN KUALA LUMPUR
IT CAN no longer subsidise its bumiputra agenda without considering returns on investment, said the head of a Malaysian government agency that is supposed to raise bumiputra real estate ownership in urban areas.
'Having non-bumiputras and foreign investors in the development would enhance its value and allow UDA to subsidise the retail portion taken up by bumiputra entrepreneurs.'
- Mr Nur Jazlan
Now, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) will instead make profitability a greater consideration by reviewing bumiputra quotas and pitching its products to non-Malays.
In an article for the Financial Daily, the UDA's chairman, Nur Jazlan Mohamed, pointed out that soaring land costs in areas such as Kuala Lumpur makes it impossible for UDA to develop land exclusively for bumiputras since it means incurring a loss which would impair its financial viability in the long run.
'This new economic reality forces UDA to depart from the usual practice of setting fixed quotas for bumiputra ownership in our projects . . . Its business model now will have a more optimal mix of purchasers with greater purchasing power to ensure future appreciation of the value of the properties.'
Previously a state mandated authority, UDA was listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 1996 only to be privatised about 10 years later.
As it is no longer a state mandated authority, but a privatised agency owned by the Minister of Finance, the government cannot subsidise its bumiputra agenda by direct allocations regularly. Its tight fiscal position is another factor.
Mr Nur Jazlan said that UDA is planning to build more 'market driven' properties, starting with the proposed Pudu Jail redevelopment project sited on 20 acres (8.09 ha) in the city centre.
'Bumiputras today have money to buy expensive properties,' he told BT, noting in one of its housing projects in Kuala Lumpur, bungalow lots went for RM1.7 million but 90 per cent of the buyers were bumiputras, or mainly ethnic Malays who receive discounts for property purchases under the government's affirmative action policies. These policies also require developers to allocate a certain percentage of housing for bumiputras, the quota varying from state to state.
Mr Nur Jazlan said that UDA would look to build 'higher-value properties' which may be beyond the reach of the average middle-income bumiputra but not necessarily richer bumiputras. But because there might not be sufficient bumiputra purchasers for a mixed development of that scale - its estimated gross development value is RM5 billion (S$2.1 billion) - UDA does not plan to set a quota on the level of bumiputra ownership as it wants the project to be financially feasible.
Even so, it is only forking out about RM150 million in land premium while an open tender would have netted the government a lot more.
There is still the bumiputra agenda to consider, he pointed out, but it would be balanced by profit considerations to enable UDA to build its reserves for future land acquisitions.
'I understand that there could be many bumiputras who might be unhappy at the reduction of bumi ownership and thus bumi participation in the project. But this can be fulfilled in other ways by awarding contracts to competent bumiputras in construction and consultancy works.
'Having non-bumiputras and foreign investors in the development would enhance its value and allow UDA to subsidise the retail portion taken up by bumiputra entrepreneurs.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=530982
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/9/28/business/20100928170011&sec=business
UDA aims to increase land reserves
KUALA LUMPUR: Uda Holdings Bhd is actively looking at opportunities to increase its land reserves currently left at an estimated 1,000 acres.
This would be to develop more mixed development projects, particularly for Bumiputeras, its Chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said.
Uda Holdings will continue to concentrate on acquiring land in Klang Valley, Johor and Georgetown. "We are looking at land with sizes of a minimum of 200-300 acres for the development of single projects in these areas. "We are also looking at opportunities in the secondary land areas such as in Melaka," he said after officiating Uda Land Central Sdn Bhd's new office building here today.
He said the demand for property, especially from Bumiputeras was on the rise and that was the reason for Uda Holdings actively seeking to develop affordable properties for the community.
On the development of Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, he said there was only 100 acres of land left there, with 85% of the land already developed. "About 90% of the residential units and more than 70% of the shophouses had been sold to Bumiputeras," he said.
On the development of the Bukit Bintang Commercial Centre, he said Uda was reviewing the price and type of development in view of the growth of the property industry in the country. "The previous proposal was made last year, but now the property market in the Klang Valley is dynamic and has gone up 20%.
Therefore, we need to restudy to assess the real value of the development," he said.- BERNAMA
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