TWO major Penang developers and the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association’s (Rehda) Penang chapter have donated RM455,172.50 to Tabung Harapan.

The donations were presented to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow at his office in Komtar today.

Aside from RM20,000 from Rehda Penang, Ideal Property Group donated RM81,992.50 while Hunza Properties Bhd gave RM353,250.

State housing exco Jagdeep Singh Deo said the money from the two developers came from fees waived for property transactions inked during the Star Property Fair and Malaysia Property Expo (Mapex) events in July this year.

He said the Penang government had asked the developers to waive the 1.5% approval fee for foreign buyers, and the 2% approval fee for property owners who sold their units within three years of purchasing them at the two property events.

“Ideal made three transactions while Hunza, four. We decided to waive the fees to spur the property industry.

“But the state still required the developers to pay the fees to the government to channel the money to Tabung Harapan Malaysia,” he said during the mock cheque presentations today.

Tabung Harapan has collected RM196.67 million up until 3pm on November 5. 

The fund, which was set up by Pakatan Harapan on May 30 to allow Malaysians to donate to help the country pay off its RM1 trillion debt, will close on December 31.

Earlier, Chow announced the official Penang launch of the Malaysia Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Foundation (MCWEF), which provides micro financing facilities to eligible Malaysian Chinese women to start small businesses and fund existing businesses.

The foundation is backed by a RM50 million fund from the Finance Ministry. Those between 18 and 60 years old can apply for loans from RM5,000 to RM30,000. The repayment period is 72 months from the date of approval.

The foundation will be launched on November 25 at Komtar, and those interested can get more information and application forms.

Chow also announced a RM200,000 aid from his special allocation fund to SMJK Jit Sin Bukit Mertajam for the school’s expansion project. – November 7, 2018.