State govt strives to soften impact of GST — Abd Karim

April 1, 2015

Abdul Karim (centre) at the awareness seminar hosted by the ministry and Sheda.

MIRI: The state government will continue to monitor and look for ways to minimise the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the housing sector.

Assistant Minister of Housing Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said among the things under scrutiny by the government would be capital contribution and imposed levy.

“The government will look into the mentioned matters so as to set prices down by improving all the mechanisms involved in housing purchases,” he said at the launch of a seminar conducted by the ministry and Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Sheda) here yesterday, which was attended by some 100 participants.

Abdul Karim said although some building materials would cost more under GST, housing developers must not unnecessarily increase property prices.

“House prices in Sarawak, especially in major towns, are already deemed to be unaffordable, particularly by those from the lower income group.

“Therefore, housing players should not take advantage of GST by profiteering from it.”

He further said although GST might lead to a certain increase in house prices, no one could predict how much it would be until the implementation of GST got into full swing.

“Even if this happens, it should not be so high that it would further burden the purchasers,” he said.

Yesterday’s session was one of the series of seminars aimed at providing clarification and guidelines on how to best move forward within the realm of Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Ordinance 2013 (HDO), Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 2014, as well as Housing Development (Control and Licensing) (Amendments) Regulations 2015 (HDR).

It was first held in Kuching last week and would proceed to Bintulu and Sibu later on.

“In addition, the seminar also aims to enhance the understanding and knowledge of housing developers and other relevant stakeholders such as banks and legal firms, on the enforcement and requirements of HDO and HDR,” Abdul Karim stated, adding that it was an opportunity for some 600 participants across the state, especially housing developers and consultants as well as lawyers, to obtain clarification and equip themselves with the necessary knowledge, understanding and tools to successfully implement and comply with the new HDO and HDR.

“In this regard, ignorance of the law is no excuse for flouting it, nor is a good defence especially on the new Ordinance that provides more stringent licensing, enforcement and compliance mechanisms,” stressed Abdul Karim, who was accompanied by Housing Ministry’s permanent secretary Dr Wan Liz Ozman Wan Omar at the seminar here.