A scheme to assist first-time home buyers in 2017 Budget

He said, it is to tackle the problem faced by Malaysians, especially the young, who could not get full bank loans due to their low starting salary.

The requirement under the scheme is, it is only for the purchase of first house valued at RM300,000 and below.

"We are discussing with Bank Negara and four major banks in the country, namely CIMB, Maybank, Ambank and RHB Bank.

"We want to come up with a package to tackle the issue of young graduates, with a salary around RM2,500 to 3,000, who may face difficulty to get full loans.

"Even there is the RM30,000 deposit for the purchase of first house provided by the government, if the house costs RM300,000, buyers still have to borrow RM270,000. (But) Banks can only loan out RM200,000.

"So, there is a gap there," he said to reporters after launching RMR Online system on the Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad's (SPNB) website for the Rumah Mesra Rakyat 1Malaysia (RMR1M) programme here today.

Johari added, the scheme would also look into the mechanisms to bridge the gap between the loan needed by home buyers and the amount eligible for loan, especially for the young.

"They will get a salary raise every year and maybe within five to six years they can buy a new house, but by that time, the house may no longer be available or its price has increased to RM400,000 or 500,000.

"So the issue now is, how to bridge the gap while waiting for their salary to increase.

"If this issue is not addressed, there will be incompatibility in whatever the government is trying to provide.

"It will create a situation where people want to buy a house but could not afford it and PR1MA wants to build a house but cannot sell it," he said.