I fail to see the logic of this move by PAS-led Kedah. This Pakatan Rakyat state announced that its new policy is to have 50% bumiputra quota for housing schemes. The Menteri Besar said that it was to compel developers to build affordable homes for all Kedahans, while EXCO Phahrolrazi said:

among the policy’s main objectives was the need to check racial polarisation as racial homogeneity could be observed in some new housing schemes.

He said housing schemes should have a healthy mix of people from various religious and racial backgrounds to promote racial integration, tolerance and understanding.

The Menteri Besar, Azizan Abdul Razak, was also quoted in NST that the policy would not deprive other communities of the right to own houses. He said that this decision was made because it was found that many Bumiputeras could not purchase houses because the quota was already taken up.

A majority of 1.5 million people (out of the estimated two million people) are Malays and the rest a mix of Indians, Chinese and others, and we have proof that when a Bumiputera wants to buy a house, the developer would say they have been sold.

In other words, the MB says that developers are lying in order to maintain a certain exclusivity for the housing projects.

The MB disagreed with the comments made by Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (Rehda) Kedah/Perlis chairman Ricque Liew that property developers in Kedah might have to close shop if the state government did not revoke the policy.

Liew had said that the state government should stick to the national policy where the Bumiputera quota was fixed at 30 per cent because even some Malays did not want to buy Bumiputera lots as they could not make much of a profit when they sold them later on.

He had said that the value of Bumiputera units did not appreciate much and buyers often had problems reselling them as they must sell to Bumiputera buyers only.

Liew added that “such a policy will only restrict the Malays from making a profit at market value.”

Now, the idea that this policy would not deprive other communities is a joke. You are taking a bigger slice of the pie, and there’s no indication that the pie is getting bigger. So, essentially, you are reducing the leftover pie. Unless there is proof that non-bumiputra units are not sold completely, indicating lack of interest, its pretty clear that this is a discriminatory and depriving policy. So, I hope the MB can clarify.

Secondly, why not get rid of the such handout mentality, and just have a policy based on income-level? In this way, the poor Chinese, Siamese, Indonesians, Indians and others can also benefit. Isn’t that more fair, even in Islam? Hopefully the mufti or other learned people can explain better?

Let’s see now what Pakatan Rakyat team members (DAP and PKR) have to say. Also, Waytha of Hindraf may want to issue a media statement on this. Then, it will be the turn of the opposition parties – MCA/Gerakan/MIC to attack PAS. There’s a caveat though, there must be numbers to substantiate the demand for houses in Kedah for both bumiputra and non-bumiputra lots in the past few years.