Property Hunter Magazine Property Hunter Magazine Issue 53 - April 2014 | Page 8

/// Exclusive Coverage SHAREDA Property Hunter Expo Sandakan 2014 Guest of Honour Message from Y.B. Datuk Au Kam Wah ADUN N45 Elopura I would like to personally welcome all exhibitors and visitors to the SHAREDA PH Expo 2014 Sandakan, which is jointly organized by the Sabah Housing & Real Estate Developers Association (SHAREDA) and Maxx Media (S) Sdn Bhd. I would like to thanks SHAREDA for inviting me to grace and officiate the opening ceremony of this event which aims to bring investors and home buyers to property developers with the ever growing demand in premium property. Being held in Sandakan for the second year, I hope that this event will help contribute to the booming real estate industry in Sandakan. The city is growing and becoming more prosperous, not only as the main eco-tourism destination in Sabah, but also as an up and coming commercial centre. With the centre of gravity moving towards suburban areas such as Mile 3, Mile 4, Mile 6 and Mile 8, the property development scene is evolving and both homebuyers and property investors are expecting higher quality products. To maintain this steady growth in the market, I would like to remind our local developers to ensure high quality control in the construction progress of the buildings. This is of utmost importance to upgrade the architectural appearance of the city, improve safety and durability of the building and to fulfil the needs and aspirations of the community. Since the Eighth Malaysia Plan, the government has spent RM5.46 billion to build affordable homes for the people. In order for the plan to materialize, there will be implementation in the next five years based on several housing schemes, including the MyHome, PPR for civil servants and those on the low and moderate income brackets. I would like to encourage more local developers to commit to building affordable homes as a means of fulfilling its corporate social responsibility rather than profit motivated, despite marketing risk being a constant issue in such projects. In regards to affordable homes, I would like to congratulate SHAREDA on their work of building more low to medium range priced homes that would enable people from the lower income groups the opportunity to own their own home. Due to the increase of property prices in Sabah, it is becoming more and more difficult for those earning less than RM2,500 per month to purchase a house. Including the units to be provided by SHAREDA, there would be almost 50,000 affordable homes to be built across the state in the coming years. I wish SHAREDA and Maxx Media the utmost success in the SHAREDA PH Expo 2014 Sandakan and I continue to applaud and support their effort in promoting and growing the property and real estate industry in Sabah. Thank you. Y. B. Datuk Au Kam Wah ADUN N45 ELOPURA 8 www.PropertyHunter.com.my