(1) Now that you all have hopefully calmed down, let me explain the rationale of what and why we proposed what we did. Idea was to create affordably priced housing that was not PPR and can stand alongside other developments in terms of how it looks, location & function

(2) Past 1.5 years this initiative has been mooted (way before I joined) lots of research was done into what problems were in public housing. We visited many PPR projects and observed the problems

(3) Maintenance was an issue, hygiene was terrible, it was cramped because units were not designed. Children did not have good living condition. Average family had 4 children

(4) We studied the social aspects of public housing. The lack of comfortable private space was a problem resulting in many spending time outside. We wanted to change that.

(5) Location - many affordable housing was situated very far away because land closer to transportation hubs were deemed too prime and owners of those development did not want them near. So they were moved far away.

(6) The design team took into account all these factors. Brief was to build something functional. With enough social / open spaces, around the estate, such as park, playground, walking track

(7) Maintenance - cost for 10 years was factored into pricing to ensure elevators, common areas, waste mgmt all done properly. It is this factor which has created a stigma on affordably priced housing.

(8) Cost - the selling price factored in legal fees, fully furnished and maintenance. This ensures that with 100% financing, owners don’t fork out extra money to live in their new home.

(9) We factored in cost of building closer to cities to avoid owners conmuting too far away to work, and incurring expenses. Defeats the purpose of owning a home but spending so much time in traffic commuting

(10) Design - it was made to look nice externally & internally, so it can co-exist alongside all other priced developments as a means for social integration, like how HDB is in all areas in Singapore.

(11) 5B/4B - We wanted to show that with good design, it’s possible to house a family with 4 children in 900 sq ft unit, each in their own room & private space. This can also be altered easily.

(12) Changing design to 3B/2B is easy. But too much emphasis was put on the 5B/4B instead of understanding the thought process of why we suggested this. Hope it’s clearer now.

(13) Furniture - we thought of how people would pay for this. Pointless to have 900 sq ft space if there’s no space. So we provide furniture too that gives the space needed to house everyday.

(14) Dual key - for those that don’t need the space, you can rent out one room, that is accessible from the front, adding privacy because the tenant will have separate entry & exit that does not encroach into your space.

(15) Regulations - there are rules put by housing authorities that any development priced under RM300k would be deemed under “affordable housing” even if it is purely private sector initiative. Here, govt will ballot out units.

(16) This is where we need support to work with authorities to put in place strong rules like HDB to avoid wrong group from abusing. And that owners must stay and cant rent out units. Enforcement & transparency is key.

(17) Financing - 60 years is long. I have said that the country’s wage issues are structural and needs to be addressed. Every employer must do their part. The biggest problem within B40 is monthly payment commitment.

(18) Having longer repayment period, added by support from banks to offer reduce financing rate can aid this. As wages increase, buyers can pay off loans faster. We cant wait till wages rise everywhere. It can be done in tandem for those who want to buy, that is.

(19) Stagnant wages are an issue. But no guarantee that housing problem will go away when wages increase. Education is important to ensure how that extra money is being used so they dont overburden themselves.

(20) Dual generation was suggested to allow banks the comfort of extending loans to 60 years. But aim is that during that time wages increase, social mobility improves and loans repaid.

(21) Rent or buy? - no harm if somebody wants to rent for life. But may dont have the luxury of paying rent when they retire. This is designed for them. Nobody is forcing ownership onto anybody. Key is to give buyers / renters necessary knowledge to decide

(22) Some adjustments need to be made, yes. We can build cheaper landed homes but it will be far away from city. Which many were not keen on. So it’s a balance. High rise costs more to build due to structure.

(23) In summary, BMF’s proposal studied many aspects, combination of short term coupled with long term. We studied social aspect, mental wellbeing, privacy, comfort, security, cleanliness.

(24) The press release at the end has the contact details of person in charge to take in comments. Send in your suggestion. We are open to improving where we need to work on. Asking for ideas should not be miscontrued as not knowing what to do.

(25) Hope that clarifies. The show unit is at Berjaya Times Square Hotel. Go up to Level 14, and ask the staff there. There’s a banner on the ground floor. Go take a look.