Civil servants happy with increase of minimum housing loan

Civil servants heave a sigh of relief after the minimum housing loan was raised from RM80,000 to RM120,000 in Budget 2015 announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Friday.

National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) Board of Trustees member Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the minimum housing loan still needs to be raised due to the escalating price of houses.

"The minimum housing loan of RM120,000 is not enough and hopefully the limit can be raised again.

"We understand that this threshold for low income earners is to ensure that they can repay the loans," he said when contacted by Bernama.

Najib also announced that the maximum housing loan for civil servants was raised from RM450,000 to RM600,000 while the RM100 for loan application processing had been waived.

The monthly household income for applicants of 1Malaysia People's Housing (PR1MA) Scheme will also be raised from RM8,000 to RM10,000 next year.

Meanwhile, National House Buyers Association (HBA) secretary-general Chang Kim Loong was grateful to the government for building more affordable housing.

However, he reminded the government to ensure proper implementation to meet the right target market.

Federation of Peninsular Malay Students Association (GPMS) president Jais Abdul Karim welcomed the announcement of the Youth Housing Scheme.

"We hope that this scheme can be implemented in a transparent manner with special consideration given to youths active in association and entrepreneurial activities," he added.