2019 Malaysia BUDGET SPEECH BY YB TUAN LIM GUAN ENG MINISTER OF FINANCE (Part 3)

hooiyewlim (68)in #teammalaysia • 5 years ago

Link to the original post: The 2019 Budget Speech

In line with the Government’s intent to assist civil servants
acquiring their homes, the Public Sector Housing Financing Board
will extend the loan repayment period from 30 to 35 years for the
first loan, and from 25 to 30 years for the second loan.
The Government will also allocate RM400 million for the
upgrading, repair and maintenance of government housing
quarters of the police, armed forces and teachers to improve the
living conditions and ensure their fitness for occupation.
The Government has already announced that we have
exempted construction and building materials from SST. In return,
we have secured the commitment from the Real Estate Housing
Developers Association (REHDA) that there will be a 10% reduction
in the price of houses that are not subjected to price control in new
projects.
There is an existing over-hang of RM22 billion worth of
residential properties as at 31 March 2018, a 65% increase as
compared to RM13.3 billion last year. To address this, the
Government will for a limited time of 6 months only, starting 1
January 2019, waive all stamp duty charges for first time
purchases of homes valued between RM300,001 and RM1 million.
This will be part of a National Home Ownership Campaign, where
in return, developers will offer a minimum price discount of 10%
for these residential properties.
Finally, as a demonstration of this Government’s willingness
to explore new, technology-enabled and innovative mechanisms to
solve our housing problems, we will be approving private sector
driven ‘Property Crowdfunding’ platforms which will serve as an
alternative source of financing for first time home buyers. These
exchange platforms will be regulated by the Securities Commission

under the peer-to-peer financing framework. As an example, the
buyer will be able to acquire a selected property for 20% of the
price of the property, while the balance 80% will be fulfilled via
potential investors who are interested to fund the acquisition in
exchange for the potential appreciation in value of the property
over a particular period of time.

In simple terms, Ah Chong will be able to own and stay in a
RM250,000 property by paying up RM50,000 without having to
procure a mortgage. Ali who might only be interested in investing
in a new property for capital appreciation will fund the balance of
the RM200,000 via the peer-to-peer Property Crowdfunding
exchange. This financial innovation will be the first in the world,
and if successful, will transform the affordability of homes for firsttime
home buyers in the country. The first exchange is expected
to go live in the first quarter of 2019, after all necessary approvals
are obtained from Securities Commission.

Encouraging Public Transport Adoption

Mr Speaker Sir

After housing expenses, transport is the next biggest expense
item. Many household don’t just own one car, they own at least
two. The typical monthly expenses for just a Perodua Myvi would
be approximately RM900 after taking into consideration the loan
instalment, petrol, parking and maintenance. Therefore, a key
solution to increasing the real disposable income of Malaysian
households is to migrate from private car ownership to the
adoption of public transport.
To increase the utilisation of public transport, the
Government will allocate RM240 million to introduce a RM100
unlimited public transport pass, to kick off initially on the RapidKL
rail and bus network on 1 January 2019. There will also be a RM50
monthly pass available just for RapidKL bus services only. The
campaign will be expanded to other bus companies at a
subsequent stage. This scheme will immediately increase the
disposable income of households by hundreds of ringgit a month.
The Government’s wholly-owned public transport subsidiary,
Syarikat Prasarana Bhd will also seek to improve its bus network
by fully utilising and optimising its current fleet of 1,131 RapidKL,
408 RapidPenang, 69 RapidKuantan and 300 MRT feeder buses.
The company will also work in partnership with other existing bus
companies to manage routes and services as well as cost control,
in order to maximise efficiency and the quality of service.
The reduction of LRT3 and MRT2 construction cost increases
the operational viability of the projects, which in turn translates
into lower public transportation fares. This will encourage public
transportation usage.
Kuala Lumpur City Council, will allocate RM20 million next
year to provide additional free GoKL free bus services from the
existing 4 routes to further improve public transport coverage in
Kuala Lumpur.
The Government will also make available RM500 million for
a Public Transport Loan Fund with 2% interest subsidy via Bank
Pembangunan Malaysia available to taxi and bus companies as
well as other public transport operators.
The Government will freeze toll hikes on all intra-city tolls
around the country for 2019 that will cost the Government
approximately RM700 million. The Government will also abolish
toll for motorcycles for the First and Second Penang Bridge, as well
as the Second Link in Johor, costing approximately RM20 million
per annum effective 1 January 2019.
In addition, the Government will prioritise solutions for both
the Causeway and the Second Link to Singapore to ease congestion
and hardship of Malaysians and residents who travel on a daily
basis. It will include an allocation of RM10 million to upgrade the
Autogate Malaysia Automated Clearance System and M-Bike.

Strategy 8: Education for a Better Future

Mr Speaker Sir,

The only sustainable and guaranteed mechanism to achieve
higher income growth is through better quality education at all
levels. The Education Ministry remains the single largest recipient
of Budget allocation at RM60.2 billion or 19.1% of the total Budget
The measures will include:
ONE: A total of RM2.9 billion will be provided to help students
from lower income groups in terms of food, text books and cash
assistance.
TWO: The Government has allocated RM652 million for the
purposes of upgrading of schools, as compared to RM615 million
allocated in 2018, as follows:
• National Schools RM250 million
• Chinese Schools (SJKC) RM50 million
• Tamil Schools (SJKT) RM50 million
• Full Boarding Schools RM50 million
• Maktab Rendah Sains Mara RM50 million
• Government Aided Religious Schools RM50 million
• Mission Schools RM50 million
• Tahfiz Schools RM50 million
• Registered Religious Pondok Schools RM25 million
• Conforming Schools RM15 million
• Independent Chinese Secondary Schools RM12 million
THREE: All donations to national schools and public
institutions of higher learning (IPTA) registered with the Ministry
of Education for the purposes of upgrading infrastructure will be
tax exempted starting 1 January 2019. This is to incentivise and
recognise Malaysians who contribute directly towards nation
building. For the other schools and institutions of higher learning
registered with the Ministry of Education, the exemptions will be
evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
FOUR: We will allocate RM100 million towards the reconstruction
of dilapidated schools throughout the country, to be
funded via competitively-tendered Public Private Partnership
projects via land currently owned by the Ministry of Education.
FIVE: RM206 million will be allocated towards the
development and provision of training programs in Polytechnics
and Community Colleges.
SIX: We will also introduce a RM30 million the Training and
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Prestige Fund, a
contestable fund where we will encourage the various training
institutions to bid for funds to run competitive programs with
specific KPIs on job placements for the graduates. There will also
be an additional allocation of RM20 million to raise youth
competency via a TVET sponsored Bootcamp.
SEVEN: Research funds amounting to RM400 million
allocated will be allocated to our institutions of higher learning via
a contestable fund. In addition, RM30 million will be disbursed in
the form of matching grants via the Malaysia Partnerships and
Alliances in Research (MyPAIR) program.
EIGHT: The Government will continue to provide
scholarships and lending to all Malaysians via various Ministries
and Agencies with a total allocation of RM3.8 billion. RM2 billion
of this amount is allocated to provide scholarship for Bumiputeras
under the sponsorship of MARA.
NINE: The Government will allocate RM17.5 million over the
next 5 years to Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre (MyPAC)
to produce 600 qualified Bumiputeras accountants towards
meeting the goal of 3,000 Bumiputera accountants registered with
the Malaysia Institute of Accounts from the 1,554 today.
TEN: The Government will allocate RM210 million as part of
the Bumiputera Empowerment Agenda to strengthen education
and human capital development programs via Program Peneraju
Tunas, Program Peneraju Skil dan Program Peneraju Profesional
which will be managed by Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan
Bumiputera.
ELEVEN: To ensure the sustainability of the National Higher
Education Loan Fund (PTPTN), we plan to introduce:
• progressive loan repayment schedule with a percentage
ranging from 2% to 15% of the borrowers’ monthly income
depending on their income level. This repayment schedule
will only apply to those with at least RM1,000 in monthly
income;
• tax relief for companies that help settle all the remaining
loans of their employees for the year ending 2019;
• additional individual tax relief for all additional savings
deposited in the PTPTN National Education Savings
Scheme (SSPN) from RM6,000 to RM8,000;
• discounts on the loan will be given to students from B40
households who have successfully obtained first class
honours in their studies;
• writing off the debt of those who are 60 years old and
above with monthly income less than RM4,000, benefiting
up to 350 debtors and costing RM4.2 million.
TWELVE: To instil good moral values and a strong sense of
patriotism amongst our youth, a new program, PATRIOT will be
introduced for youths aged 15 to 30 involving 70,000 participants
a year with an allocation of RM70 million.
THIRTEEN: The Government congratulates all medal
winners in the Asian and Asian Paralympic Games that have
enhanced the good name of Malaysia and brought international
goodwill. The Government is allocating RM100 million to prepare
our athletes for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in hopes of bringing back
our first gold medal.
FOURTEEN: We will also allocate RM10 million for E-Sports
to Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), recognising that
this is an activity and industry which is increasingly popular
among the younger generation involving software engineers and
gaming developers.