Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the government cannot prevent developers from building luxury properties because the country is not practising a communist economy.

"We can't do like that – preventing them from building houses. This is not a communist economy, this is a democratic country.

"They (developers) have a right to build (what they want). We cannot stop them because this is an open country," he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Abdul Rahman was responding to a question on whether Putrajaya will ask local governments to block developers from undertaking luxury developments.

He said what the government could do was to appeal to developers and remind them that affordable housing is a national agenda.

He added that developers appear to prefer luxury homes because there is demand for it.

"My point is, if developers do not see a big demand for affordable housing, then they are not carrying out their corporate (social) responsibility well," he said.

Yesterday, Sultan of Perak Nazrin Shah criticised property developers which were seen to be more interested in luxury housing as they can fetch big profits

The ruler noted that many low-income families, especially among the bumiputera community, are lamenting that they can only afford to look at such houses but can never own them.

Abdul Rahman today echoed the sultan's sentiment, saying: "I would also like to remind the developers that the biggest demand is in affordable housing.”

"I appeal to them not to only look at profits," he added.