Kota Kinabalu: The Madani government should strictly allocate Sabah with a special funding for Skim Jaminan Kredit Perumahan (SJKP) – a government initiative of home accessibility for self-employed Sabahans, in its upcoming tabling of 2026 National Budget.
Making the call, Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) President Datuk Johnny Wong Chen Yee said SJKP is a federal guarantee scheme introduced several years ago to help first-time homebuyers without fixed incomes.
He said this scheme is meant for those self-employed who have stable income but not fixed income such as e-hailing drivers, small traders, or gig workers.
“With high rejection of bank loans for those who do not have fixed income, SJKP was introduced few years ago to significantly benefit the self-employed group and the Federal government allocated quite a lot of money in this scheme.
“Initially, the federal allocation for the SJKP stood at RM1 billion, but was later reduced to RM600 million, and then RM400 million by 2025.
“By the time Sabah applies for these funds, they are often already depleted because Peninsular Malaysia banks access them first.
“That’s why I’m urging the Madani government to allocate a specific portion of the SJKP fund exclusively for Sabah in the tabling of the 2026 National Budget soon, so that self-employed Sabahans able to own homes,” he said in a press conference here, recently.
Johnny was commenting on the upcoming tabling of 2026 National Budget by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on this Friday.
However, he lamented that the scheme had been slow to take off in Sabah due to limited awareness and delayed rollout among local banks.
“Many local commercial banks in Sabah only started implementing the SJKP last year after their headquarters in Kuala Lumpur gave the green light. That’s why the scheme was not widely used here before.
“Having such specific allocation for the State would ensure that Sabahans are not sidelined by geographical and administrative delays.
“The loan rejection rate in Sabah is very high, not because people can’t pay, but because they don’t have formal employment. Many earn stable incomes from small businesses, but their earnings don’t fit the traditional banking model,” Johnny said.
He said Shareda also urged the federal government to strengthen the SJKP scheme and consider additional measures such as down payment assistance for self-employed homebuyers.
Johnny also called on local commercial banks to play their part by actively promoting and implementing the SJKP scheme, instead of sidelining it due to lower profit margins.
“We will continue engaging with the banks to raise awareness, but at the same time, we need them to cooperate.
“This is not just about profit — it’s about social responsibility and helping Sabahans own homes,” he said.
In a related development, Johnny said Shareda also called on the Federal Government to prioritize poverty alleviation and housing accessibility in Sabah in the National Budget, because Sabah continues to record one of the highest poverty rates in Malaysia, making it crucial for the Federal Government to channel stronger support toward the state’s low-income and self-employed sectors.
He said the Budget should also include dedicated provisions for Sabah’s housing needs and stronger mechanisms to improve affordability and homeownership, especially in high-demand urban areas.
“This is not just about building houses; it’s about building stability for families and reducing poverty. Sabah deserves a fair share of the national development pie,” he said.
In a related development, Johnny said the Federal government should highly consider to revive the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) which was proven an effective way to boost demand and ease financial pressure on buyers.
“We strongly urge the government to revive and expand HOC under Budget 2026, with a specific focus on Sabah. It provides incentives to genuine first-time home buyers and helps clear unsold housing stock.
“Tailoring HOC benefits for B40 and M40 families in Sabah will maximise its impact and promote greater financial inclusion,” he said.
He said the federal government needs to reintroduce the HOC, which was discontinued last year.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed that the upcoming 2026 National budget will announce something on the HOC as many were asking us about it intensively a few months ago,” he said.
The HOC, he added, had provided stamp duty exemptions for first-time homebuyers, significantly reducing the entry cost by waiving fees for stamp duty and loan agreements — making homeownership more achievable.
“Such incentives benefit genuine first-time buyers, not property investors.
“When HOC was active, we recorded a significant increase in property sales, which also helped boost the economy.
“When the property market stalls, you get an overhang situation — where you cannot sell the property units and that means an economic standstill. That’s what we want to avoid,” he said.
Johhny said the Federal government should also reinstate initiative housing schemes like Rent-to-Own (RTO) and co-ownership programs to help more Malaysians, particularly first-time buyers and lower-income groups to enter the property market.
He said the RTO and co-ownership schemes are crucial for those who cannot afford to purchase a home upfront.
“These programs allow people to rent first and later own the property once they are financially ready.
“But for this to work, the government needs to step in and support the financial structure, because the private sector alone cannot sustain such a heavy financial commitment,” he said.
Johnny said government assistance is vital to ensure more affordable housing units become available, especially for those who genuinely cannot afford to buy immediately but aspire to own a home in the future.
Johnny said government intervention in such programs would particularly benefit the B40 and M40 income groups, helping them gain access to the housing market.
“The key is to build market confidence. When incentives like these are available, buyers are encouraged to make decisions faster instead of waiting on the sidelines.
“We hope the upcoming national budget will address these issues and bring back meaningful housing incentives,” he added.
