Property Hunter Magazine Issue 63- February 2015 | Page 24
SARAWAK PROPERTY NEWS
Sarawak Studying Possibilities Of
Creating Retiree Villages
What They Said
Prime Minister NajibRazakin a special
address on 20 January to announce revisions
to the national budget for 2015:
“We are not in crisis. Indeed, we are taking pre-emptive measures following
the changes in the external global economic landscape which are beyond
our control.” He added that government spending would also be trimmed
but not the RM48.5 billion budgeted for development expenditures which
includes a slew of infrastructure development projects such as the PanBorneo Highway.
S
arawak’s Housing Ministry
is studying the possibilities
of creating retiree villages in
Sarawak. Its minister Datuk Amar
Abang Johari Tun Openg said that
such type of villages is the latest
trend in developed countries.
He said one such renowned
retiree villages in a residential
area in Australia allows retirees to
buy houses.
“The village is managed by
developers and has home-care,
nursing, recreation and exercise
facilities.
“These houses are sold,
but managed by an
appointed company,
and when the owner
leaves, the house can be
resold to other people
through its property
developer,” Abang Johari
said when speaking at
the Taman Desa Guru
Playground officiating
ceremony recently.
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Master Builders Association Malaysia president Matthew Tee in
response to the government’s ambitious infrastructure goals for 2015:
He added that once the ministry
has obtained feedback from
developers, they will start to work
out the plans to build these retiree
villages in the state.
Abang Johari, who is also Tourism
Minister, said they had received
the paperwork from interested
developers, but the appropriate
sites had not been identified.
“We also received a suggestion
from Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun
Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to
see if the area in Telaga Air can
be developed into retiree villages.
Thus, we are looking into the
possibilities and we are waiting for
feedback from developers,” he said.
“We hope the government will implement its projects progressively, rather
than all at one go, because there is a real shortage of manpower and
machinery.The industry is dependent on foreign labour, and with the recent
government policies and crackdowns on migrant workers, we may face
greater difficulty in completing our jobs.”
Maybank IB Research views revised 2015 Budget positively for
construction sector:
“Listed construction players with exposure to infrastructure projects stand
to win contracts from the major public transportation projects. They would
also benefit if foreign workers levy rate is reduced.”
Despite lower oil revenue, the government has decided to maintain gross
development spending which includes allocation for rural transport
infrastructure, water projects, flood mitigation, affordable housing and
property/facility maintenance.