Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) announced that Datuk Johnny Wong Chen Yee will helm the association as President for the 2025–2027 term, following an uncontested election held in its 37th AGM here on Saturday.
Its Immediate Past President Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping said this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held as a full physical event, in line with the requirement for a voting process to elect new office bearers and deliberate motions.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});However, he said when the nomination period officially closed on May 8, all candidates for the upcoming term, including the incoming President and his council team, were confirmed unopposed.
“I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our incoming President-elect 2025-2027, Datuk Johnny Wong Chen Yee, who will be taking over the helm.
“His uncontested election — along with the return of his entire team — clearly reflects the membership’s confidence and trust in his leadership and vision,” said Chua.
He said Johnny will officially assume office alongside his newly confirmed council team, taking over the reins as Shareda continues to address industry challenges and build collaborative ties between developers, government and the community.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“I am confident that under his (Johnny) stewardship, our Association will continue to reach greater heights,” Chua said.
The transition signals continuity and stability for Shareda as it moves forward with its mission of promoting responsible and sustainable development across Sabah’s real estate sector.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Over the past term (2023-2025), Chua said Shareda had made significant progress on several key fronts and achieved some good results.
“First was the implementation of a new policy on house lot ownership by Bumiputera status buyers which was approved by the Sabah Cabinet, with effect on Dec 1, 2024.
“There are four key policy changes as below: 30pc allocation to Bumiputera buyers – Developers must allocate 30pc of houses to Bumiputera buyers who can now choose their house lot. Developers will report sales every six month Discounts for bumiputera buyers – A 5pc discount remains, with any additional discounts to non-Bumiputera buyers added to this total (e.g. 15pc discounts to non-Bumiputera = 20pc for Bumiputera buyers). The most glaring key policy is the Abolition of Re-sale Restriction – Bumiputera buyers can re-sell their homes freely without approval. Pre-existing restrictions can be lifted upon applications. Conditions for releasing 30pc Quota – The release application can only be considered after the housing development has reached the level of 50pc completion for landed property development or 20pc completion for high-rise building development.
Chua said these new changes are applicable for Ministry of Local Government and Housing (KKTP) Advertisement Permit and Developer’s Licence (APDL) licences ONLY and not for Native Titles (NT).
Another change was based on KKTP’s Circular No. 1/2025, a new implementation policy for Affordable Housing (AH) approved by the Sabah Cabinet meeting Series 04/2025, this year.
“We achieved alignment of Sabah’s AH guidelines with the Federal specifications – a significant step in ensuring housing development in Sabah meets equitable and sustainable standards.
“This puts us on a more level playing field with West Malaysia and provides clarity to both developers and planners.
“Based on the circular under Schedule A, there are different range of affordable housing prices based on the areas - the housing prices in rural areas cannot be more than RM220,000, housing prices in suburb or City outskirts must not be more than RM300,000 while in the City area, the housing prices cannot be more than RM380,000.
“As for the built-up area of the AH house has been set at a maximum of 850 sq ft with three rooms and two bathrooms,” Chua said.
He said there was also a new set of guidelines for Sabah-Malaysia My Second Home (Sabah-MM2H)– Acquisition of properties in Sabah to foreign investors, which was tailored for Sabah, aligning them more closely with national standards to ensure Sabah does not miss out on this economic opportunity.
He said there is a website link: https://sabahmm2h.sabahtourism.com to get more information on the guidelines.