URBAN Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar was coy about how controversial projects in Taman Desa and Taman Tun Dr Ismail would be impacted by the government’s freeze on high-end development projects, saying the moratorium to ease the current property glut only applied to projects awaiting approval.

He said Prime Minister Najib Razak had instructed all 139 local authorities nationwide to halt approvals for residential projects involving units priced above RM1 million each, as well as for shopping malls and office spaces until the existing glut is cleared.

However, luxury development projects that were pre-approved can go on, he said.

“If (they are) already approved, they can go on. But not for new projects,” he told reporters after launching a three-day local government meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre.

Noh did not answer when asked about the concerns of residents in Taman Desa and TTDI, both Kuala Lumpur suburbs, where residents have filed suits to challenge the development of high-end condominiums.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz did not attend the meeting.

The government’s freeze followed a Bank Negara quarterly report that unsold residential units were highest in a decade, with 83% of unsold houses being in the RM250,000 and above price range.

Noh said the cabinet would lift the freeze when supply and demand in the market is on par again.

He also did not answer questions about Bung Mokhtar Radin’s complaint that the federal government’s affordable housing programme, PR1MA, is unaffordable for many.

He said Putrajaya has allocated RM2.7 billion for affordable homes and encouraged developers to build more such homes.

He added that his ministry has asked local authorities to set up a one-stop centre to streamline application process for all low-cost and affordable homes, such as the People’s Housing Project (PPR), PR1MA and public housing for civil servants (PPA1M).

The ministry allocated more than RM1 billion to local authorities in Budget 2018 to help subsidise operating costs, he said.

Taman Desa residents took DBKL to court in March for approving a condominium project at a Tenaga Nasional Bhd reserve land.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court is slated to hear the developer’s application to be made a party to the suit on 29 November.

TTDI residents also took DBKL and the mayor to court this year over a mixed housing development project at one of the affluent suburb’s only two green lungs, Taman Rimba Kiara. – November 23, 2017.