66 3.2
Housing Development Process in Malaysia Housing development in Malaysia is carried out by both the public and the
private sector through the concepts of `sell and build’ and `build then sell’. The public sector (through National Housing Department, Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad and other government agencies) concentrates mainly on low-cost and affordable housing while the private sector (private housing developers), apart from complying with the 30 percent low-cost housing provision, concentrates on mediumcost
and high-cost housing developments. The Malaysian government has also
formulated a housing policy which aims to strengthen the involvement of private sector in housing production and delivery (Asiah, 1999; Ibrahim, 2008). The development of housing is given an emphasis in various plans at the federal, state and local levels. At the federal level, the current and future housing requirement are planned and targeted through the five-year Malaysia plans, NPP and NUP. Various housing policies have also been formulated in the plans to guide the process of housing development at the state and local levels. One of the prominent policies in the plans is to ensure all Malaysians have an access to adequate shelter and related housing facilities (Ahmad Zakki, 1997; Chan, 1997a; Goh, 1997b; Asiah, 1999). At the state and local levels, the development of housing is planned through the preparation of SP, LP and SAP. It is also guided by various housing policies and guidelines formulated by the State Authority and planning authorities (Alias, 2006). The process of housing development in Malaysia is very complex and highly regulated (Chan, 1997b; Asiah, 1999). As shown in Figure 3.1, after acquiring the land, there are many stages of approvals regulated by various laws and rules of different agencies which need to be obtained by housing developers (Tan, 1996; KPKT, 2002; Alias (2006); Ibrahim, 2008). Among them are: (i)
The approval of land development applications (conversion, sub-division and amalgamation) by the State Authority or land administrators (enacted under the NLC, 1965).
(ii)
The approval of planning permission by LPA (under the Act 172).
(iii)
The approval of building plan by local authority (under the Street, Drainage and Building Act, 1974).