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. 24 www.PropertyHunter.com.my 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.