KOTA KINABALU – When it comes to construction talent, Sabah is 20 years behind Peninsular Malaysia.
Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) immediate past president Datuk Chew Sang Hai said the government needs to acknowledge this problem and provide tax incentives and grants to Sabah contractors in Budget 2022.
“The government cannot treat contractors in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia equally – it is like giving the same treatment to children and adults.
“They must help Sabah contractors grow so that developers will hire them instead of letting them be (left behind in skills and competency) while we keep hiring contractors from Peninsular Malaysia,” he said when sharing his Budget 2022 wishlist with The Vibes.
Chew said the difference between contractors from Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, is that Sabah contractors do not have the industrialised building system formwork – a more advanced method used in construction.
“Sabah contractors are still using the timber formwork (conventional formwork), which is highly dependent on labour and is more time-consuming.
“With the very low volume of work that they get, they cannot afford to invest in a system framework that could cost up to millions of ringgit.
“This is where the government should step in to help them, provide them with tax incentives and grants so that they can purchase the formwork and other tools to improve themselves,” he said.
Chew said since 1985, the cost of construction materials in Sabah has been 30% higher compared to Peninsular Malaysia.
“It is time the government introduces a certain incentive and creates an innovative policy to ensure the cost of building materials in Sabah is the same as Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
Chew also proposed for Budget 2022 to provide 20% of its total infrastructure development allocation to Sabah, and another 20% to Sarawak.
“The government cannot allocate the budget based on population. They have to take into account the size of Sabah and Sarawak. If not, Sabah will never keep up with the development in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
Despite being born in Peninsular Malaysia, Chew said he has been in Sabah since 1982 and has witnessed the state’s slow development compared to Peninsular Malaysia.
“Sabah is 30 years behind Peninsular Malaysia and is now the poorest state in Malaysia. Something has gone wrong here, and the government must address this problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chew said he hopes the Home Ownership Campaign will be extended for another year, as Shareda is expecting another slow year in Sabah post-pandemic.
“I hope the government will provide innovative housing loans for affordable housing. The pandemic has hit the tourism (hotels) and retail industries badly. The government needs to introduce certain innovative loans to target these industries,” he said. –The Vibes, October 25, 2021
