KUCHING: The Ministry of Housing will launch a Special Housing Loan Scheme next year to assist in financing the housing needs of the lower income group.

According to Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, the scheme would be launched once all technicalities had been finalised and the management team had been put in place.

“The scheme shall be part and parcel of the new approach whereby the provision of affordable housing by the government will be tied up with and supplemented by end-financing facility for house buyers.

“Thus, at both ends of the housing spectrum, that is the supply side on one part and the financing element on the other, are being addressed simultaneously with this integrated approach,” he said when winding up the speech for his ministry yesterday.

The scheme, he added, would be implemented by Mutiara Mortgage and Credit Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDC, which would function like any other banks or lending institutions and to be manned by a professional management team.

“However, it would give a certain degree of flexibility to the applicants in terms of lending requirements to allow them to obtain end-financing from the company. This notwithstanding, loan collection and recovery efforts would be undertaken systematically based on standard banking practices,” he explained.

Abang Johari also noted that the National Housing Department (JPN) under the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government had approved three projects with a total of 143 units of double-storey terraced and 27 units single-storey terraced this year for the MyHome Scheme in the state.

“For Sarawak, the houses under this scheme are to be sold between RM60,000 and RM90,000 for those with monthly household income of between RM3,000 and RM4,000. Those with an average monthly household income of between RM4,001 and RM6,000 will be eligible for houses with price range of between RM120,000 and RM250,000,” he said, adding that his ministry would continue to assist in the implementation of this scheme with JPN to ensure that more housing projects would be undertaken by local housing developers in the future.