The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) Malaysia is encouraged by the government's move to reduce cement prices for developers building affordable housing priced RM300,000 and below.

Its president Datuk NK Tong said this is a positive move that is much welcomed by those who are still unable to own a house.

"As a responsive, respected, responsible and relevant non-government organisation (NGO), Rehda Malaysia will work closely with the Local Government Development Ministry (KPKT) to ensure that all intended savings from the reduced cement price will go to the people," he told Bernama.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when announcing the initiative, said the move would benefit the bottom 40 (B40) and the middle 40 (M40) income group as it would see a maximumRM5,000 reduction in house price depending on the type and the price of the house.

Meanwhile, Tong also noted that Rehda Malaysia has been actively building affordable housing for close to 50 years with the majority of such housing being built by its members. It is of the view that it is high time other related industry players offer initiatives in an effort to make housing more affordable.

"We not only need the support in terms of more affordable materials prices and related services, but also (support) from financial institutions," said Tong.

For instance, Rehda Malaysia believed that should banks offer special rates and/or financial plans for the construction and purchase of affordable housing, this would lead to more savings for Malaysians unable to purchase houses in the free market.

However, to make all housing truly affordable, Tong said the ideal situation would be for the government to take over the provision of affordable housing completely, as per the situation before the 1970s when there were no affordable housing or low-cost housing requirements imposed on developers.

This would remove the current need for developers to raise prices of regularly-priced homes in order to cross-subsidise affordable units, he said.

The government would also be able to utilise the knowledge and information within its various agencies to directly ensure that the right type of affordable housing is constructed at the right location, he said.

Meanwhile, Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) president Oliver HC Wee said the association welcomed the government's collaborative effort and the Malaysian Cement and Concrete Association (C&CA) in offering cement at a reasonable rate.

"However, as the offer specifically benefits the B40 and M40 income groups, it would not significantly affect the construction industry at large," he said.

Nonetheless, he said the association hopes that all construction material prices would stay stable.

Following Anwar's announcement, Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming said C&CA is offering one million tonnes of bulk cement at RM290 per tonne under the Rahmah cement scheme initiative for private housing developers building affordable units versus the RM410 market price.

This is equivalent to a 29.3 per cent incentive from cement suppliers, he said in a statement yesterday.

Nga said the value of one million tonnes of cement would be converted into 20 million standard 50kg cement bags, sufficient for 24,000 units of affordable houses.

A bag of cement is priced at RM22.50 currently and this would reduce it by 22.2 per cent to RM17.50.

The 20 million bags would be supplied in stages to private housing developers building affordable units for a maximum of four years until June 30, 2028.