Schemes such as YMFH help B40 buy their first home, break away from poverty, says economist

PETALING JAYA: The government must support home ownership schemes such as the programme by Yayasan My First Home (YMFH) as it will benefit Malaysians and the housing industry in the long term, said Universiti Utara Malaysia economist Dr K. Kuperan Viswanathan.

He said supporting home ownership schemes that are targeted at those earning low wages and first-time homeowners is a must to lift those from the B40 group out of their quandary of not being able to own property.

“The fact that such home ownership schemes exist must be supported. The act of acquiring assets can be the pinnacle to break away from the poverty cycle.

“Allowing the B40 group to acquire assets is a good thing because they (the assets) always increase in value compared with wages. This form of ownership can potentially break the nation’s poverty cycle,” he told theSun.

YMFH is an initiative to help low-income Malaysians acquire their first home.

Last Sunday, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said affordable home ownership was among the dreams or aspirations expressed by youths during a Budget 2023 dialogue session earlier in the week.

Universiti Tun Abdul Razak economist Prof Dr Barjoyai Bardai echoed the sentiment, saying Malaysia could also take a leaf from UK’s form of cooperative housing, through which a large group can benefit from home ownership schemes such as YMFH.

“The cooperative society can apply for funding, rather than being individually accountable (to the payment scheme applied). For instance, if 1,000 members are recruited to a cooperative, then the amount paid to own a home can be substantially reduced. This way, everyone stands to benefit and individual titles (to their home) can be given after a certain time frame,” he said.

Under YMFH, Malaysians in the low-income bracket can opt to be part of a financing scheme that can help them purchase their first home. Its general manager Nambee Ashvin Nambiar said the scheme is also open to those in the 40 and below age group, who find it difficult to obtain loans to purchase a place of their own, especially young individuals who have just joined the workforce or those who are about to start a family.

“The lowest monthly instalment currently being paid (to YMFH) is RM100 and the highest is RM600. This commitment brings a sense of pride and dignity to the homeowner, without placing any further burden on their existing commitments.

“Additionally, we are open to financing the payment of other fees associated with owning a first home, as long as the purchasers are in the B40 category and the houses they wish to purchase are within the affordable homes category,” Nambee told theSun.

He said YMFH itself is offering three different types of houses it has designed – a 69.7sq m unit with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, an 83.6sq m unit with five bedrooms and four bathrooms and an 83.6sq m dual-key unit with five bedrooms and four bathrooms.

“We have an idea of how we would like to see more of these houses fall under the affordable housing category. Thus, we are open to other developers who want to use the same design and we wish to put forward this space or design to the government, to show that it can be done and an entire family can live comfortably in such houses,” he said.

National House Buyers Association honorary secretary-general Datuk Chang Kim Loong said YMFH’s aspirations to assist the B40 group to buy their first home is a noble initiative.

The foundation was launched last year by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who lauded the scheme initiated by Berjaya Corporation Berhad founder and chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan, calling it a “noble cause”.

Chang added that other affluent business leaders and high net worth entrepreneurs and philanthropists should also help the government in coming up with solutions to provide affordable housing.

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