Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani has denied that the RM200 million allocation for the MyDeposit scheme announced in the 2016 Budget review has been slashed.

This comes after speculation that the programme, aimed at helping middle-income households buy houses, was downsized due to the government's financial constraints.

"This definitely is not true," Johari told Malaysiakini.

"Once we have given our word, then RM200 million is there.”

Meanwhile, National Housing Department director-general Abdul Rahim Ishak called on the people not to fall for rumours on the matter.

"Never listen to hearsay. The policy of the government pertaining to the MyDeposit programme is still the same," Rahim said in an e-mail.

Malaysiakini was tipped off by a reader that the government may reduce the RM200 million allocation approved for MyDeposit to just RM40 million.

Some applicants of the scheme have also complained on the social media about having to wait for months to learn if they are successful.

MyDeposit, the brainchild of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, is targeted at households earning between RM3,000 and RM10,000 a month.

Successful applicants will receive up to RM30,000 from the government to pay for the downpayment of a new house, which must not exceed the maximum price of RM500,000.

A simple calculation shows that if the allocation remains at RM200 million, then 6,666 house buyers will benefit if each applicant is granted the ceiling aid of RM30,000.

But if the scheme is downsized to RM40 million, just 1,333 house buyers would benefit.

Only 425 applications have reportedly been approved as of June 23. The government has received 1,311 legitimate applications while the rest failed to meet the requirements.

Then housing minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan had said in April that the government would consider continuing with the MyDeposit scheme in the future, if the response was encouraging.

Incentives for housing developers as well

It was reported that the scheme also provides incentives for developers of affordable housing units.

"The money is not only given to individuals, but to the developers as well," Johari said.

The Umno minister also noted that many applicants failed to meet the conditions set by the government.

Most applicants were disqualified because they were not able to secure housing loans, bought houses that cost more than RM500,000, or failed to sign an agreement with the developers, he said.

“If anyone of them say they have fulfilled all these conditions and didn't get (MyDeposit), please come and write me a letter. I will help them," Johari said.

He also denied that the government was running out of money and slashing student loans because of 1MDB's debts.

"It's not true. You know, this country only had a reserve of RM15 billion during (the financial crisis) in 1997-98... We now have US$97 billion...

"Our fundamentals are intact, our economic growth is at four percent.

"We still have money. A country's economy going up and down is normal, but to say the government has no money is not right," Johari added.