KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Youth Council (MYC) has objected to the call by the Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (REHDA) for an automatic conversion of unsold Bumiputera lots after a certain period. MYC President Mohamed Maliki Mohamed Rapiee said REHDA should have identified the cause of failure to sell the Bumiputera lots in the community context.

The mismatch between supply and the affordability of the majority of Malaysians was among the causes of properties remaining unsold, he said in a statement on Friday. REHDA President Datuk Seri Michael K.C. Yam said yesterday that studies had shown that failure to sell Bumiputera lots was among the main factors of developers incurring losses.

Maliki said the MYC appreciated the pressure faced by developers following the rising costs of labour and building materials but REHDA should also accept the fact that the developers should have indentified the socioeconomic status of the target buyers. Most people could not afford to own upmarket properties that developers were so keen to build, he said. "Housing and settlement are very important to form a harmonious and unified structure of society.

If this is taken lightly, we will return to the colonial settlement structure where people were segregated according to the economic stature of the races," he said. This would directly retard the process of unity in Malaysia, he said. "Hence, the MYC hopes the government will retain the existing policy on the conversion process and not make it automatic when there are no buyers after a certain period.

"The developers and property traders should have understood this before making the investment," Maliki said. -- BERNAMA