KOTA KINABALU: Sabah hopes to reduce the oversupply of high-rise properties valued above RM600,000 in the state through the Sabah-Malaysia My Second Home (Sabah-MM2H) programme.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister II Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam said the state's sluggish housing industry was in the recovery phase.
"However, the top priority is to provide homes for people in the Bottom 40 (B40) and Middle 40 (M40) income groups," he said at the launch of the Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) Property Expo 2024 themed "The Art of Building" at the Sabah International Convention Centre here.
The state government, he said, was pleased with Shareda's initiatives to build affordable housing for B40 and M40 income earners.
He added that developers had done well to provide quality housing options for the public despite the rising construction costs.
Gunsalam said the state Local Government and Housing Ministry would launch a people housing programme aligned with the initiative announced by the federal Local Government Development Minister in March.
He said the new scheme was an integrated, sustainable, and livable housing programme.
Gunsalam hoped that the developers would prepare themselves for the influx of tourists to the state.
He also hoped that Kota Kinabalu City Hall would adopt a law similar to the Uniform Building By-Laws (UBBL) 2022 Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) to expedite building approval and certification to push the industry forward.
He said all of Sabah's 25 local authorities had adopted the UBBL, which gives professionals or the principal submitting person the power to issue the CCC.
"This will replace the Occupation Certificate (OC) previously issued by local authorities."