According to a recent report, Malaysia’s Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali told property developers that they should be more open towards “disruptive technology” as a means to transform the sector and create more affordable housing in the country.
The economic affairs minister pointed out the world is undergoing a technological revolution and the use of “disruptive technology” has the potential to be an important contributor to the nation’s economy.
He noted that the Malaysian government must identify a way to employ these new disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence and Big Data analytics, to transform the housing eco-system in Malaysia which is developing today.
The minister noted that, thus, developers in Malaysia should quickly adopt disruptive technology to begin transforming the housing sector as an answer to provide more affordable homes in his speech during a ceremony to hand over the keys to the new owners of the new affordable apartments.
He also said the government will always support housing developers, financial institutions, consumer groups, local authorities and other stakeholders to develop more affordable homes.
The apartment complex in Semenyih is an affordable housing scheme developed by one of Malaysia’s top property developer under the “Rumah Selangorku” initiative launched three years ago by the economic affairs minister Azmin when he was Selangor mentri besar.
The three-block apartment totals 870 units with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Each unit measures 750 square feet costing RM100,000.
The “Rumah Selangorku” initiative was designed to develop more affordable housing in the country’s most developed state.
According to an early report, Malaysia’s readiness to accept and embrace technological disruptiveness will help the country’s ongoing endeavours in becoming a developed nation by 2020.
In a briefing, the executive vice president and the director of a company that provides research and investing information said that Malaysia is in the “sweet spot” to capitalise on the disruptions.
He had noted that opportunities were being seen not only in disruptive technology companies but also in companies that are using technology to change industries. The underlying trend is the same across the EMs and that is, disruptions will spur growth.
It was noted Malaysia has been performing well across all sectors last year (2017), exports remain vibrant and GDP is still growing and these all are great indicators for an economy.
Despite the growth, the firm is still “underweight” on Malaysian stocks in comparison to other emerging markets (EMs) in ASEAN such as Thailand and Indonesia.
This urge to adopt more disruptive tech and the development of the new apartments complements Malaysia’s 2019 Budget, which has been carefully crafted to balance fiscal discipline and growth, according to another report.
The government’s commitment to addressing the need for affordable homes, for example, was seen with the special RM1 billion fund by Bank Negara which can be accessed by purchasers of homes below RM150,000.
Many measures about stamp duties are also favourable for first-time home buyers of properties below RM500,000 and those looking for homes for immediate occupation below RM1 million.
These measures would benefit the low-income group, first-time home buyers, government servants and also address the current overhang situation in residential properties.
This, in conjunction with the Budget’s reported stance that technology will encourage product innovation and create new ways and means of doing business in an age of digital disruption, is likely to boost the wide-spread adoption of disruptive tech in property development and other areas of the Malaysian economy.
