News by Adam Aziz

KRI, said KRI research director Dr Suraya Ismail, maintains that there is no issue in terms of access to financing provided by banks now, which is ample and stable for “eligible house borrowers”. “[But] when houses see rapid price escalation, backed by financing, this creates a problem. We see that financing and house prices have strong correlations,” she said.

Under the JDAs with the four landowners, Tropicana will develop the lands at its own costs.

“Too many people are dependent on [house] prices going up. The percentage fee received by [a property agent] to sell an existing unit is based on [the] sale price. So nobody in this profession would want to make house prices go down,” Suraya said.

While many countries adopt both cost approach and the sales comparison method to value properties, Malaysia’s housing industry is seen to ignore the former as reflected in the widening gap between house prices and development costs, KRI said. 

This includes the RM42 million said to be channelled into the bank accounts of former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is facing seven charges in relation to the misappropriation of SRC funds.

Abu Talib testified that he received cheque worth RM300,000 from the former PM, PMO.

Datuk Asmadi Abu Talib, who is Umno Padang Serai division chief, told the High Court that he received a RM50,000 cheque from Najib by hand soon after he was selected as a Barisan Nasional candidate for the Merbau Pulas state seat in the constituency for the 14th General Election.

AmBank cheque processing senior manager Badrul Hisam Mohamad confirmed that a total of 15 cheques amounting to RM10.77 million were sent out by Najib during the year via his personal AmBank and AmBank Islamic accounts.

Between December 2014 and February 2015, Najib paid RM1 million to Umno Pulau Pinang Liaison, RM1 million to UPKO, and RM300,000 to Umno Johor Bharu Division, according to the cheques produced by deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi. This was verified by AmBank cheque processing department senior manager Badrul Hisam Mohamad, 42.

“I dare [to] tell you that he is a victim of conspiracy of Jho Low and gang,” Muhammad Shafee said.