Working from home trend spurs demand for bigger houses

12 Essential Work from Home Trends & Predictions for 2021/2022

THE Malaysian property market, despite still navigating the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic from last year, is expected to perform better in 2021.

PPC International managing director Datuk Siders Sittampalam says while the pandemic “isn’t going to go away” soon, he is optimistic that the property market will find a way to “work around it.”
PPC International managing director Datuk Siders Sittampalam.

“The fear of the pandemic will not end anytime soon. It will take a while for everyone to go back to their normal live. “With that said, people are going to have to work around it. You can’t expect to be placed under cold storage for too long. Life needs to go on and the real estate segment is the same,” he tells StarBizWeek.

While the vaccine will be available soon, he emphasises that things will not go back to pre-pandemic conditions overnight.

“A sustainable model will need to be put in place for the local property market to work through the pandemic. Eventually, everyone will need to find what works best for them to be able to cope in this challenging environment.”Siders says the concept of working from home (WFH), which has become the norm, could change the mindset of housebuyers going forward.

“The WFH concept has fuelled the demand for properties that don’t just serve as homes, but also working spaces. Gone may be the days where a single bedroom apartment was more than sufficient.

“Now, there will likely be demand for larger properties that can double-up as your office.”

TA Securities, in a recent report, shared a similar sentiment.

“Demand for landed property remains resilient as we saw recent launches at (S P Setia Bhd’s) Alam Impian and Setia Alam achieved commendable take-up rates of more than 90%. Meanwhile, S P Setia sees a pent-up demand for larger homes as remote working options gain traction after the movement control order (MCO).

“Similarly, the trend of opting for bigger space is also observed in Singapore, as we saw a surge in buying interest at Daintree Residence, Singapore. This project was only 30% sold after two years of launch. However, the take-up rate shot up to 90% when the sales gallery reopened after circuit breaker was lifted.”

Despite the implementation of a second MCO, Siders is optimistic that any repercussions on the property sector will not be as bad as the first one that was implemented in March last year.

“I think the market will be better than last year. Activity has not come to a full standstill like the first MCO.

“The sudden shock during the first MCO is not reflected in the current one. Generally, the market will be better than last year,” he says.

Meanwhile, Knight Frank Malaysia managing director Sarkunan Subramaniam says the performance of the residential market is very much dependent on how the economy moves forward.

“The anticipated commercial rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine by the first half of this year will certainly boost the hopes for the country’s economic recovery and lift overall consumer sentiment.

“However, the current ongoing political uncertainties amid the worsening Covid-19 have led property buyers as well as developers to rethink their future plans and strategies. The residential market is expected to remain challenging in the first half of 2021,” he says in a recent statement.

Slight recovery

Sarkunan says the residential market showed a slight recovery post the first MCO last year with selected developers reporting improved bookings, supported by the low interest rate environment and pent-up demand.

“The reintroduction of the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), coupled with several stimulus packages as well as the initiatives tabled under Budget 2021, offered a ray of hope for the sluggish residential market.

“However, the recent spike of Covid-19 cases, which led to the implementation of the second MCO, will likely derail market recovery in the short term.”

The government reintroduced the HOC in June last year under the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana). Under the campaign, stamp duty exemption will be provided on the transfer of property and loan agreement for the purchase of homes priced between RM300,000 and RM2.5mil.

Meanwhile, the exemption on the instrument of transfer is limited to the first RM1mil of the home price, while full stamp duty exemption is given on loan agreement effective for sales and purchase agreements signed between June 1 to May 31, 2021.

In addition, the government has announced real property gains tax exemption for Malaysians for the disposal of up to three properties between June 1, 2020 and Dec 31, 2021.

The HOC was kicked off in January 2019 to address the overhang problem in the country.

The campaign, which was initially intended for six months, was extended for a full-year.

Better outlook

The HOC proved successful, having generated total sales of RM23.2bil in 2019, surpassing the government’s initial target of RM17bil.

Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB) in a recent report says the local property sector is poised for recovery in 2021, driven by a better economic outlook and historically low interest rate environment, as well as pent-up demand.

“In our view, first half 2021 sales should perform better than the second half,as we expect a spike in sales before the end of the HOC and better political stability during the State of Emergency until Aug 1.”

Maybank IB adds that the imposition of the MCO this year should have a lower damage impact on sales as compared with the first MCO last year.

This is because most developers have acclimated to the “new norm” and accelerated their efforts to market their products via the digital platforms.

“A few developers told us that 50% to 70% of their 2020 sales were derived from the online platforms. Construction works are allowed during the MCO as long as approvals are obtained after registering with the Covid-19 Intelligent Management System and adhering to the standard operating procedure, hence, limiting the impact on first quarter 2021 earnings.”

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Generating sustainable retirement income

 

Many Malaysian are EPF contributors and have FDs as well. "You will never understand how bad the feeling is when you have to break your fixed deposit to cover your living expenses."

ONE of the top financial concerns of retirees is running out of money.

Whether you were an executive earning a reasonable income, or if you are making top dollars as a businessman, the fear is still valid.

For example, Tommy, who left the working world soon after selling his factory to a European multinational corporation. Tommy shared during one of our meetings that he was golfing every week and globe trotting almost every other month.

However, there was a problem that greatly bothered him. He found that he was dipping into his fixed deposit every now and then just to maintain his interesting lifestyle.

“Yap, you will never understand how bad the feeling is when you have to break your fixed deposit to cover your living expenses, ” he said.Combing through all of his finances, we discovered that Tommy’s lackadaisical attitude was to be blamed. He has not been paying enough attention to invest and generate income from the RM12mil nest egg that he had painstakingly accumulated. His investment portfolio was a mess.

Over the years, he invested in a few properties but never really bothered to oversee them. When tenants left, he didn’t make an effort to secure new tenants. In fact, some properties were even sitting vacant and idle. His excuse? He was too busy running the business.

Yap Ming HuiYap Ming Hui

Tommy has also invested in some shares and unit trusts but he seldom monitors and reviews their performances. Imagine his surprise when he went looking for some extra cash but discovered that most of the investments were not making money. Prior to meeting me, he couldn’t decide whether to sell or to keep those underperforming investments.

Consequently, the bulk of Tommy’s wealth is in fixed deposit. The trouble is the interest income from fixed deposit barely covers the impact of inflation. As such, if Tommy continues to spend on his interest income, he will risk having the principal depleted.

Asset rich, income poor

Tommy’s problem is a typical case of “Asset Rich, Income Poor.” His situation is definitely not unique. In fact, I find most self-made millionaires or business owners, typically strong at creating wealth from their business or professional career, but poor at generating income and gain from the created wealth.

For one, all the time spent ensuring their businesses succeed also takes them away from making sure that the wealth created is optimised.Let’s examine Tommy’s assets and see how it measures up (see chart).

The RM6mil in fixed deposit generate approximately 2% interest income. However, notice that the 2% of interest is not sufficient to offset the 4% inflation provision. As a result, there is negative net income coming from Tommy’s fixed deposit asset.

Tommy’s properties are worth RM3mil and only generates RM50,000 in rental income per annum. Nevertheless, this can be considered a net income because inflation will be hedged by capital appreciation (at least 4% per annum) of the properties.

The RM1mil in shares gives a total return of 5%. Factoring 4% inflation, the actual income received from share investment is RM10,000.

Unfortunately, the RM2mil unit trust investments didn’t offer any returns. After inflation provision, his unit trust investment has a net income of RM80,000.

The reality is if nothing is done now, Tommy’s wealth will continue to shrink by RM140,000 a year once inflation is factored to the equation. How does this play out for Tommy? The fact that he needs RM360,000 a year to maintain his current lifestyle will not augur well for him.

So, how can you prevent from ending up in Tommy’s situation?

The optimisation measures

> Remember to review the performance of each of your investment asset classes. In order to generate more income and gains, be proactive in getting rid of poor quality and poor performing investments. Look at each investment and ask yourself, should you keep it or should you sell?

> Consider moving fixed deposit into higher return investment.

Any gains from your fixed deposit would probably be eroded by inflation, especially given the current low interest, which will probably persist for quite some time. After calculating and providing for your emergency fund cash reserves, the balance of your fixed deposit should be invested into other investments that can generate higher return and income to hedge against inflation.

> Diversify the source of retirement income

Even if one investment asset can give you a good income and hedge against inflation, it does not mean that you must bet all or the majority of your wealth in it. For example, property investing. Some investors have found success in it. They were able to generate good capital appreciation and rental income.

As a result, they put a majority, if not all, of their wealth into properties. It may sound logical at first but rental income is not sustainable in the long run. It is subjected to changes, some of which cannot be controlled. Therefore, the best practice is still to diversify your retirement income across different asset classes, like share dividends and capital gains, unit trust gains, bond investment gains, retirement income products and others, so that it is not badly affected by any one impact.

The ability to grow your wealth during retirement years is important. Just because you have stopped working, it does not mean your money should stop working too. The idea behind wealth optimisation is to ensure that you can upkeep your retirement lifestyle and protect your wealth from inflation.

Ideally, one should get a plan done a few years prior to retirement to see how your retirement income would play out. After all, you wouldn’t want to have any unpleasant surprise, like in Tommy’s case. When you have time on your side, you can improve your investing skills and adjust your retirement plan accordingly while still in your active income earning years.

Yap Ming Hui is a licensed financial planner. The views expressed here are the author’s. Any reliance you place on the information https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/01/09/generating-sustainable-retirement-incomeshared is therefore strictly at your own risk.

 

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Work From Home (WFH) without pain

"The best posture is the next posture,” ergonomic expert Karen Loesing said about how workers can prevent back and neck pain through ergonomics.

This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Work From Home ...

Here are six tips to help avoid the pain that can come from a makeshift home office during this work-from-home ( WFH) period.

MANY of us are currently working from home during the conditional movement control order.

While it is an excellent precaution to avoid catching the SARSCoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 (not to mention other viruses and bacteria), you might find that your makeshift home “office” is causing you pain in your neck, shoulders and back.

Working for extended periods of time at your dining or coffee table is not great for your body and overall health.

Without those adjustable office chairs, you have to be extra conscious of your posture and routine if you want to combat the stress and strain that come from sitting in a compromised position all day long.

Fortunately, there are cheap and creative ways to make your work-from-home set-up more ergonomic.

Stay comfortable and avoid back pain while you work remotely for the foreseeable future with these tips.

Elevate your workstation

At work, your desktop or laptop is at a work station with an adjustable chair.

But at home, working for 40plus hours a week at your dining table can lead to back, shoulder and neck strain.

Laptops are never good ergonomically as the monitor is usually too low.

Ideally, the top of your monitor should be just below you eye level, so that you don’t have to strain your neck while reading.

If you’re working on a reading-intensive task, prop your laptop up on objects (like a stack of books or shoeboxes) so that it’s at your eye level.

You can also invest in an external monitor or a laptop stand.

When you need to type, do lower your laptop to a level that allows your arms to be comfortably bent at 90° angles while doing so.

Work at the appropriate height

The height of your workstation at home should be one that naturally allows your elbows to be at the same level as the table, desk or counter.

This will promote better wrist alignment and help avoid stiffness and stress on the carpal tunnel.

If compulsory working from home stretches on (as appears to be happening), you might want to invest in an appropriate office chair for your home workstation.

You should look for chairs that have adjustable height and back rests, as well as arm rests and good lumbar support.

A wheeled chair will allow you to easily adjust your distance from the computer and move it around

if necessary. The features of a good office chair will save you from much lumbar and neck discomfort, and is worth the investment.

Elevate your feet

Supporting your feet on an elevated surface or stretching your legs creates better blood circulation as you work throughout the day.

Ideally, your hips and knees should form 90° angles when you sit in your chair.

Place your feet on a few books or shoeboxes under your desk, so that your thighs are parallel to the floor and your hips slightly higher than your knees.

This will reduce stress on your lumbar spine.

When you start feeling stiff, move your feet back and forth.

Use the 20/20/20 rule

This rule states that for every 20 minutes spent looking at your computer screen, take 20 seconds to look at something else that is at least 20 feet (6m) away.

This will give your eye muscles a break and reduce eye strain.

Vary your position

It’s crucial to vary your posture throughout the day as sitting in the same position all day long is the quickest way to getting back, neck and shoulder pain.

For some variety, move to different places around the house throughout the day.

Make one spot your main workstation, but also move to a place where you can stand to work, change tables or rooms, or sit on your couch for short periods.

But do not turn your couch into your main workstation!

As tempting as it sounds, the couch is not an optimal place to work at your computer for the entire day.

While it may be comfortable, having your legs or whole body in a horizontal or diagonal position can lead to muscle numbness and discomfort.

Instead, you can make your main workstation more comfortable in several ways.

Placing a thin pillow or cushion on your seat can make a regular chair much more comfortable.

Draping a soft fleece blanket over the back of your chair is also a small thing that can make your chair feel plush.

To reduce lower back pain, add a rolled towel between your chair and lower back for lumbar support.

Take regular breaks

Because we don’t have an official lunch hour while working from home, it’s easy to snack on small things while working throughout the day instead of eating a proper lunch.

Cooking a meal and staying hydrated gives you the opportunity to stand up and allow your eyes to rest from the glare of the computer screen.

Set boundaries so as not to be tempted to work through the night by sticking to your regular work hours or usual number of hours at work.

Most people take breaks to walk around when they’re in the office, but when you’re at home, there may be a tendency to forget to do this and keep going without enough breaks.

Stay active

Set a timer to go off every hour to remind yourself to take a break for three to five minutes.

Walk around, do some basic stretches or take the chance to finish some quick chores like washing the dishes from lunch or folding the laundry.

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and a functional medicine practitioner. For further information, email starhealth@ thestar.com. my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

 

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All steady on the home front in Penang residential properties

Sales done: According to Knight Frank Malaysia, there are pockets of success by some developers reporting bookings and sales for their affordable homes during the movement control order period despite the fact that physical viewings were disallowed.

DEMAND for residential properties in Penang is expected to remain steady during the second half of 2020, especially if the homes are from renowned developers with good quality products.

Knight Frank Malaysia executive director Mark Saw says there are pockets of success by some developers reporting bookings and sales for their affordable homes during the movement control order (MCO) period (from March 18 to May 3), despite the fact that physical viewings were disallowed.

“In this challenging environment, developers with a strong brand name and good delivery of quality products should still achieve decent returns and the gap between higher and lower quality properties will become more evident with better sales for those able to deliver.

“These factors will play a critical role in determining the success of developments. It has become a buyer’s market and many deals are being offered by developers to attract first-time buyers as opposed to investors who have been temporarily sidelined, ” he tells StarBizWeek.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Saw says buyers’ preferences and timings may change, with decisions being put on hold due to job security, ample choices and rentals being more competitive.

CBRE|WTW director Peh Seng Yee says the pandemic’s impact has been softened in the second half of the year with the recovery MCO (which was implemented from June 10).

CBRE|WTW director Peh Seng Yee says the pandemic’s impact has been softened in the second half of the year with the recovery MCO (which was implemented from June 10).

“As housing is a necessity and with the bank loan moratorium, the residential property sector has been cushioned from the worst impact.

“Hence, the residential market is expected to remain resilient for the second half of 2020. Significant growth is not expected yet as the issue of property overhang, lack of spending confidence by consumers and stringent lending policies by banks are expected to still linger for the remainder of the year.”

Additionally, both Saw and Peh agree that the reintroduction of the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) was a much-needed boost to the local property market. The government reintroduced the HOC in June under the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana).

 

Mark Saw: In this challenging environment, developers with a strong brand name and good delivery of quality products should still achieve decent returns and the gap between higher and lower quality properties will become more evident with better sales for those able to deliver.

Peh says the HOC is expected to continue to spur the buying momentum for residential properties in Penang over the short term.

“Developers are experiencing a pick-up in bookings by buyers compared with the first half of 2020, which was mainly affected by the MCO.

“However, the encouraging bookings have yet to be fully translated into good actual sales, due largely to stringent lending policies by the bank and the challenges and uncertainty in the economy and job market.”

Saw also believes the HOC will be a short-term reprieve for the local property market.

“The HOC initiatives will only be a temporary measure. For the long term, developers should carry out proper feasibility studies to determine the marketability of their products before commencing developments and ending up with unsold units.”

According to Saw, the volume of residential transactions in Penang decreased 19.7% to 2,748 units in the first quarter of 2020 compared with 3,422 units in the fourth quarter of 2019.

“The value of transactions in the residential sub-sector during the first quarter (RM1.06bil) indicated a drop of 17.2% compared with RM1.28bil in the fourth quarter of last year, ” he says.

Under the HOC, stamp duty exemption will be provided on the transfer of property and loan agreement for the purchase of houses priced between RM300,000 and RM2.5mil.

Meanwhile, the exemption on the instrument of transfer under the HOC is limited to the first RM1mil of the home price, while full stamp-duty exemption is given on loan agreement effective for sales and purchase agreements signed between June 1 and May 31,2021.

The government has also announced real property gains tax (RGPT) exemption for Malaysians for the disposal of up to three properties between June 1,2020 and Dec 31,2021.

The HOC was kicked off in last January to address the overhang problem in the country. The campaign, which was initially intended for six months, was extended for a year.

It proved successful, generating total sales of RM23.2bil in 2019, surpassing the government’s initial target of RM17bil.

Meanwhile, Knight Frank in its Real Estate Highlights Research for the first half of 2020 says that amid the current global recession, Invest Penang has revised downwards its foreign direct investment (FDI) target for 2020 to RM5mil.

“This will be supported by the shift towards Industry 4.0 and the various tax incentives and reinvestment allowances as announced under Penjana that seeks to promote Malaysia as a choice destination for FDIs.”

To clear RM2.6bil worth of 3,043 overhang units in the state, Knight Frank says the Penang local government, housing, town and country planning committee has announced that the state will reduce the minimum price threshold for foreign property ownership by up to 40% starting from June 11,2020.

“Ceiling prices for stratified properties on the island will be reduced by up to 20% from RM1mil to RM800,000 and on the mainland, from RM500,000 to RM400,000.”

In the high-end condominium segment, Knight Frank says IJM Perennial has put on hold the development of The Light City.

“Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the group had indicated that it would resume development in August 2020. To be developed over a period of more than four years, Phase 1 will feature a mall with 680,000 sq ft net lettable area, the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre, a four-star hotel with 500 rooms, offices and the ‘Mezzo’ residential condominiums.

“Meanwhile, for Phase 2, there are plans for a 300,000-sq-ft mall, a five-star hotel with 250 rooms, offices, the ‘Essence’ residential condominiums and possibly an experiential theme park. It is worth noting that the commencement of Phase 2 will be determined by the sales of the Mezzo condominiums and the occupancy of the mall.”

As for the office sub-sector in Penang, Knight Frank says the average occupancy rate for four prime buildings monitored in George Town remained stable at 89%.

“According to the latest National Property Information Centre report, the average occupancy rate in the state continued to hold steady at 81.4% in the first quarter of 2020 (compared with 81.3% in the fourth quarter of 2019).”

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Penang's LRT project gets conditional approval from Transport Minister

GEORGE TOWN: Waves of excitement swept through Penang when the Transport Minister announced that the Bayan Lepas light rail transit (LRT) has received conditional approval.

It is seen as a move to reduce traffic congestion in the city and create a next wave of growth for the state.

The approved 29.9km Bayan Lepas LRT will bring convenience not only to the local folk but also tourists and investors, said Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Penang chairman Datuk Dr Ooi Eng Hock.

Ooi, who is positive that the project will spur growth on the island, believes the LRT will bring in another wave of development into the state.

“The LRT will divert traffic congestion. It will attract new investments, make life easier for our workforce.

“I believe it will boost the state’s economy with another wave of growth,” he said yesterday.

Following the Transport Ministry’s conditional approval of the project, Ooi added that it is the first step for a change in landscape and behaviour of transport mode in Penang.

Yesterday, the Transport Ministry gave conditional approval to the Bayan Lepas LRT project.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke in a statement said that after a detailed study of the application by Penang Economic Planning Unit (BPEN) to develop the Bayan Lepas LRT project, approval with 30 conditions for the state to comply was given on Tuesday.

Loke said the conditions included a detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) approval including traffic, social and heritage assess­ments.

The state must now exhibit documents on the project for three months, and the final go ahead will only be decided after the public responses are evaluated, said Loke.

“I welcome public participation from the people, NGOs and all stakeholders in this public review.

“The relevant documents are to be exhibited in public places including government offices.

“The state government must also upload a copy of these documents on a website for online viewing.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow thanked the Federal Govern­ment and said the state is committed to fulfilling all requirements.

“We will wait for the official letter from Transport Ministry to proceed and initiate public viewing of the documents,” he said.

The RM8.4bil Bayan Lepas LRT together with a monorail, cable cars and water taxis, is part of the state government’s RM46bil Penang Trans­port Master Plan (PTMP).

This LRT will begin at Komtar in the northeast corner of the island and head south through Jelutong, Gelugor, Bayan Lepas and Penang Interna­tional Airport, ending at the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) development.

It is expected to provide a fast route to the airport and will traverse densely populated residential, commercial and industrial areas.

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Housing woes: death spiral or virtuous cycle?

THE World Economic Forum estimates that the global cost of corruption annually is at least US$2.6 trillion (RM10.9 trillion) or 5% of global gross domestic product (GDP).

According to the World Bank, businesses and individuals pay over US$1 trillion (RM4.2 trillion) in bribes each year.

Corruption adds up to 10% of the total cost of doing business globally and up to 25% of the cost of procurement contracts in developing countries.

I gathered these shocking facts at a conference. There are other alarming statistics that shed light on the damage brought about by corruption and its dreadful impact on the economy.

Corruption leads to further impoverishment of the poor and other issues in many countries. The average income in countries with a high level of corruption is about one-third of those countries with a low level of corruption. In addition, corrupt countries have a literacy rate that is 25% lower.

The Corruption Perception Index 2018 released by Transparency International shows that on the scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean, over two-thirds of 180 countries score below 50, with the average score of 43.

In the index, Denmark ranked first in the world followed by New Zealand second. Finland and Singapore were tied for third with a score of 85. Malaysia was ranked 61st in the world, scoring only 47.

We were ranked the third highest in the Asean region, after Singapore and Brunei. Our country is doing better now with the ongoing investigation of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal and other prominent cases.

In TI’s report, Malaysia is one of the countries on the watch with promising political developments against corruption. However, more solid action is needed in combatting all elusive forms of corruption.

According to Transparency International Malaysia, corruption had cost our country about 4% of its GDP value each year since 2013. Added together, this amounts to a high figure of some RM212.3bil since 2013. For 2017 alone, that figure was a whopping RM46.9bil!

As a comparison, our development expenditure in 2017 was RM48bil. If the value of corruption above was accurate, our development fund was almost “wiped out” because of corruption.

Transparency International Malaysia president Datuk Akhbar Satar said: “This is our estimate. It is likely to be higher in reality (on the value of corruption).”

No country can eliminate corruption completely. However, we can learn from good practices shown in some developed countries, such as the Scandinavian countries which all scored high on the Corruption Perception Index.

Corruption leads to poverty as money collected is not used for the welfare of the nation. As a result, the people end up suffering and paying for the leakage in the system.

If a country is corrupt-free, it will reduce the need for non-governmental organisations (NGOs). NGOs advocate for the rights of marginalised groups. The government can take care of those group when it has a surplus in the budget.

A clean government and system will have a positive impact on many aspects including affordable housing, one of the prominent needs of the people.

Whenever there is corruption, there is a compromise in the delivery of goods and services. The same situation applies to affordable housing.

Someone mentioned to me in the past that “the government isn’t interested in affordable housing as there is literally ‘no money’ to be made in it”!

Things have made a dramatic change for the better since May last year. Our new government is working on a platform of clean government and improving transparency. It plans to build one million affordable homes within two terms of its administration. To make this a reality, the government needs to put in real money to make it happen.

Corruption causes a death spiral that leads to various problems. Without it, a virtuous cycle grows that ensures every part runs smoothly and the marginalised in society are looked after.

With a promise of a cleaner government, we hope we will soon see a virtuous cycle that makes the one million affordable homes an achievable target.

By Datuk Alan Tong, who has over 50 years of experience in property development. He is group chairman of Bukit Kiara Properties. For feedback, please email bkp@bukitkiara.com. The views expressed here are solely that of his own.

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