To Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong, the two government initiatives to provide affordable housing for the rakyat - My First Home loan scheme (SRP) and 1Malaysia People's Housing Project (PR1MA) - are unrealistic and impractical.

"For the 80 percent of Malaysians earning less than RM3,000, My First Home loan scheme and PR1MA are way off the mark," claimed the DAP political education director in a press statement today.

NONE SRP was announced by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in March 2011 to provide 100 percent loans for singles or families earning less the RM5,000 a month to purchase their first home of up to RM400,000 in value.

However the loans under this scheme still have to be approved by the banks, and until May 2013, only 485 loans have been approved since the launch, according to Liew.

"A 30-year-loan for RM400,000 with a 4.4 percent interest rate, would require a monthly repayment sum of RM2,003.

"Given that 80 percent of Malaysian households earn less than RM3,000 per month, it is unrealistic to expect them to be able to afford the SRP home loan.

"If the borrower earns a RM3,000 monthly salary, the payments amount to 67 percent of his gross monthly income and 77 percent of his take home pay (minus EPF contribution).

"No bank in their right mind would approve such a loan," he explained.

Another 105 years to hit PR1MA target

Liew also lashed out at PR1MA which was introduced in Budget 2013 as a initiative to build houses and sell them for under RM400,000 to families earning between RM2,500 and RM7,500.

azlan He said that when he questioned the progress of construction to date in Parliament, the response from the finance ministry  had been less than satisfactory.

"So far, 560 units are in the process of construction in Putrajaya and 201 are also being built in Nusajaya, Johor," said Liew, adding that no projects were being planned in Sabah and Sarawak.

"At the current speed, it will take 105 years to build the 80,000 units of PR1MA houses. To sell them is another problem altogether."

Liew urged the government to introduce a semi-rental or shared equity model to solve the need for social housing.