Selangor MB: Put the difference into fund for poor
Published: Aug 5, 2010 11:57 AM | Updated: Aug 5, 2010 12:09 PM
Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim emphasised that he concurred with the suggestion to abolish discounts given to bumiputeras for luxury property purchases on the basis that the differential amount could be developed into a fund for lower income groups.
Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim emphasised that he concurred with the suggestion to abolish discounts given to bumiputeras for luxury property purchases on the basis that the differential amount could be developed into a fund for lower income groups.
In a letter addressed to Utusan Malaysia's group editor-in-chief, Aziz Ishak, Khalid (right) denied news reports in the Malay language newspaper on July 28 claiming that he had supported DAP MP Tony Pua's suggestion to do away with the seven percent discount.
Instead, Khalid had proposed to direct the differential amount from the bumiputera discount given for purchase of properties above RM500,000 into a housing development fund for the poor, explained his press secretary Arfa'eza Abdul Aziz.
Arfa'eza, in the letter, reprimanded the daily for not reporting the menteri besar's statement in full.
She stressed in the report titled "MB Selangor Sokong Cadang DAP", which translates that Khalid backed DAP's suggestion, was "inaccurate".
"The menteri besar has never, even once, stated that he supports the Petaling Jaya MP's proposal as described by the report," she said.
"The title clearly did not paint a picture of the real situation and can be viewed as bad intent and purposely trying to spark the bumiputera community to hate the menteri besar and the state," she lashed out.
Statement not reported in full
Arfa'eza pointed out after that Pua made the proposal, the menteri besar was asked to comment on it by reporters after a forum.
"As an example, if the house cost RM1 million, the discount of RM70,000 can be placed in the fund and assist low income earners to own houses," the letter stated.
Unfortunately, Khalid's explanation was not reported in full, she lamented.
Pua (left), while speaking at a forum organised by the state government on economy, had urged the state to abolish the seven percent discount for bumiputera buyers of private property worth above RM500,000 and commercial property worth above RM2 million.
The proposal, has met with stiff opposition, with numerous police reports being lodged against the lawmaker.
"He (Khalid) explained it was just a suggestion and it needs to be discussed at length. The menteri besar fully supports the seven percent discount for bumiputeras especially buyers of low-cost and medium-cost houses.
She said the newspaper had "failed to fairly report" the forum which had involved industrialists, NGOs, and representatives of the private and government sectors, to contribute to the draft of the 2011 Budget.
"Pua's suggestion is only one of the many suggestion that would benefit the people of Selangor and which focusses on the service industry and domestic industry to not depend entirely on foreign investment," she said.
She also hinted that the "petty reports" were meant to instigate hatred and turn people of different races against each other.
She added that the Menteri Besar Office "regretted" the behaviour of BN leaders and NGOs, who have lashed out at the state government based on "non-existing facts".
In a letter addressed to Utusan Malaysia's group editor-in-chief, Aziz Ishak, Khalid (right) denied news reports in the Malay language newspaper on July 28 claiming that he had supported DAP MP Tony Pua's suggestion to do away with the seven percent discount.Instead, Khalid had proposed to direct the differential amount from the bumiputera discount given for purchase of properties above RM500,000 into a housing development fund for the poor, explained his press secretary Arfa'eza Abdul Aziz.
Arfa'eza, in the letter, reprimanded the daily for not reporting the menteri besar's statement in full.
She stressed in the report titled "MB Selangor Sokong Cadang DAP", which translates that Khalid backed DAP's suggestion, was "inaccurate".
"The menteri besar has never, even once, stated that he supports the Petaling Jaya MP's proposal as described by the report," she said.
"The title clearly did not paint a picture of the real situation and can be viewed as bad intent and purposely trying to spark the bumiputera community to hate the menteri besar and the state," she lashed out.
Statement not reported in full
Arfa'eza pointed out after that Pua made the proposal, the menteri besar was asked to comment on it by reporters after a forum.
"As an example, if the house cost RM1 million, the discount of RM70,000 can be placed in the fund and assist low income earners to own houses," the letter stated.
Unfortunately, Khalid's explanation was not reported in full, she lamented.
Pua (left), while speaking at a forum organised by the state government on economy, had urged the state to abolish the seven percent discount for bumiputera buyers of private property worth above RM500,000 and commercial property worth above RM2 million.The proposal, has met with stiff opposition, with numerous police reports being lodged against the lawmaker.
"He (Khalid) explained it was just a suggestion and it needs to be discussed at length. The menteri besar fully supports the seven percent discount for bumiputeras especially buyers of low-cost and medium-cost houses.
She said the newspaper had "failed to fairly report" the forum which had involved industrialists, NGOs, and representatives of the private and government sectors, to contribute to the draft of the 2011 Budget.
"Pua's suggestion is only one of the many suggestion that would benefit the people of Selangor and which focusses on the service industry and domestic industry to not depend entirely on foreign investment," she said.
She also hinted that the "petty reports" were meant to instigate hatred and turn people of different races against each other.
She added that the Menteri Besar Office "regretted" the behaviour of BN leaders and NGOs, who have lashed out at the state government based on "non-existing facts".
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