The REHDA Institute has renewed its call for a fundamental overhaul of Malaysia’s housing policies, emphasising the need for a more flexible, data-driven and locality-specific approach to the national “Housing for All” agenda.
The appeal follows a major roundtable convened yesterday, which gathered more than 100 stakeholders from across the housing ecosystem — including government agencies, academics, bankers, corporates, NGOs, local authorities and state representatives.
The session featured a presentation by Sr. Malathi Thevendran, Director of Research and Education at REHDA Institute, and was moderated by Datuk NK Tong, Immediate Past President of REHDA Malaysia. Group discussions were facilitated by senior academics from Universiti Malaya.
The event drew wide representation from federal bodies such as the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT), Economy Ministry, NAPIC, DOSM, and PLANMalaysia. Also present were state housing boards from Pahang, Perak, Penang and Selangor, local councils from Klang, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Kuantan, Pasir Gudang and Seberang Perai, as well as a senior representative from the Negeri Sembilan State Government.
Financial institutions including CIMB, HSBC and Maybank took part, alongside professional bodies such as PAM, MIP and RISM, and research organisations including Khazanah Research Institute. NGOs representing community housing issues — such as the Malaysian Association of Abandoned Building Owners (Victims Malaysia) and Save Kuala Lumpur — also contributed.
Summarising the collective insights, REHDA Institute Chairman Dato’ Jeffrey Ng stressed the urgent need for policymaking that adapts to changing market realities.
“A uniform, one-size-fits-all approach across all States and Districts has proven ineffective,” he said, noting that housing supply often fails to match local demand patterns. He added that the aim is not to dismantle the current quota system but to refine it responsibly as socio-economic conditions evolve.
The Institute also highlighted that net disposable income, rather than gross household income, should be adopted for affordability assessments. This metric, it said, better reflects actual spending capacity.
Recent DOSM data indicates that median household income grew at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2022 to 2024, outpacing median house price growth of 3.7%. Both Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera households recorded higher representation in the RM9,000-and-above income brackets over the past decade.
Dato’ Jeffrey reiterated that social housing should not be viewed as the sole responsibility of developers. Instead, he called for broader industry collaboration — including potential contributions from banks through special quotas or preferential interest rates.
He also urged the Government to move away from punitive frameworks towards positive reinforcement, rewarding responsible compliance and encouraging partnerships in achieving social housing goals.
One of the immediate priorities identified was the utilisation of idle land, particularly parcels originally reserved for schools or public amenities but remaining unused or oversupplied. Unlocking such land, the Institute argued, could significantly improve housing availability.
The roundtable highlighted persistent gaps in data sharing and enforcement. Although platforms such as PADU, DOSM and NAPIC hold extensive datasets, REHDA Institute said these remain severely underutilised — especially in verifying eligibility for affordable housing, where weak enforcement has opened room for abuse.
To address this, the Institute recommended exploring the creation of a centralised housing data agency staffed with qualified analysts and supported by coordinated intergovernmental collaboration.
