Oleh/By : DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : PWTC, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 29-05-2002
Tajuk/Title : THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE
"FIABCI WORLD CONGRESS 2002"
Versi : ENGLISH
Penyampai : PM
"BUILDING THE PROPERTY VISION"
Thank you for inviting me to officially open the
53rd FIABCI World Congress 2002. Let me also welcome
all delegates and participants to this congress.
2. I'm proud that this congress is held in Kuala
Lumpur with the theme "Building the Property Vision-The
Global Experience". I'm also proud to know that this
World Congress is co-organised by the Ministry of
Housing and Local Government, Malaysia and supported by
the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism, Malaysia.
This congress is also officially endorsed by Malaysia
External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE). This
auspicious World Congress has also received tremendous
support from the local corporate sector.
3. FIABCI is the French acronym for the International
Real Estate Federation, a United Nations accredited
agency and a member of the World Habitat Forum seeking
to improve the quality and competitiveness of the
property industry through the sharing of knowledge,
information and business opportunities at the local,
national and international level.
4. FIABCI Malaysian Chapter was established in 1977
and its members are prominent professionals from the
Malaysian real estate fraternity. FIABCI Malaysian
Chapter's role is in line with the International Real
Estate Federation`s statement. It is in line with our
Vision 2020 that emphasises on long-term development
plans to build an advanced and forward-looking nation.
5. The basic needs for us as human beings are food,
clothing and a roof over our heads. As we become more
and more civilised all these three simple needs take on
a more complex character. We do not want just to fill
our stomach but we want tasty nourishing food presented
in a palatable manner. And each civilisation defines
its own taste and presentation. The same applies to
the clothing that we wear.
6. But the simple roof over our heads has become
amazingly complex and reflects the level of our culture
and civilisation more than any other aspect of our life.
From the caves as shelter to the mega cities of today,
there has been a tremendous leap forward.
7. Cities used to grow of their own volition, without
order and planning.Many cities are mere amalgamation of
adjacent villages. Consequently they are not really
capable of coping with the problems of masses of people
living together. Primitive societies could not become
urbanised because they could not tackle the problem of
roads and streets, of water supply and sewerage
disposal, of conflicts between the inhabitants. The
city-state of ancient Greece developed and prospered
because they were able to devise Governments for the
cities and rules and regulations and laws to discipline
the people. Elsewhere the cities were less able to cope
with growing urbanisation.
8. Perhaps the greatest invention to benefit human
habitation was the water carriage system. Without it
cities could never grow so big nor buildings so tall.
9. We take the modern building with its water and
electricity supply for granted now. But in Malaysia
only half a century ago most towns and parts of the
cities were without water carriage system and
electricity. In some countries in Southeast Asia this
is still the situation. Even when there is, the quality
is still poor, the supply uncertain.
10. Even in the most modern cities slums and squatters
detract from the modernity of these cities. Migration
from the rural areas and the influx of foreign workers
contribute much to the squalor of the city slums. The
challenge for the Governments, city planners and the
developers is how to provide better housing and a good
environment for all, especially the poor.
11. Malaysia is trying to tackle the problems but of
necessity harsh attitudes and actions have to be taken.
No one likes to see the poor or the seemingly poor
ejected from their homes, no matter how shabby and
squalid they may be. But failure to clear up city
squatter areas can result in serious health problems,
disastrous fires, breakdowns of law and order and often
riots and mayhem. It is amazing how squatter
settlements can double in size almost overnight. Then
it will become totally unmanageable.
12. During the Sixth Malaysia Plan (1991 to 1995),
private developers successfully achieved the target of
building 217,000 low cost houses. Then came the Asian
Financial crisis, which forced the government to focus
on economic recovery rather than tackling social
problems. A property overhang developed and threatened
to brankrupt many real estate developers, imperilling
the banks. A special effort had to be made to promote
the sale of property with the government foregoing
stamp duties and bringing all the government agencies
together to accelerate the processes of ownership
transfers. The developers cooperated by participating
in a one-spot property sale, bringing along the
lawyers, banks, models as well as offering discounts.
13. During the Seventh Malaysia Plan (1996 to 2000) a
total of 859,480 units of houses were completed with
121,624 units built by the public sector and 737,856
units built by the private sector.
14. During the Eighth Malaysia Plan (2001 to 2005),
the government is targeting the construction of 615,000
units of houses including 312,000 units to be built by
the public sector and 303,000 units by the private
sector. This joint involvement of the public sector and
the private sector in the housing industry is a good
example of the Malaysia Incorporated concept
functioning. The government would continue to encourage
the building of more medium-cost and low-cost houses to
meet the increasing demand. Equal attention will be
given to quality housing with all the necessary
infrastructure facilities for sports, recreational and
cultural activities.
15. The Malaysia Incorporated concept provides the
private sector with easy access to Government
Departments and officials in order to air their grouses
and to make suggestions on how the government can
improve its services. Most importantly both sides not
only learn to understand each other better but to work
on suggestions and ideas to improve the services.
16. Globalisation is facilitated and driven by
technological advancement. The information revolution
is already bringing cities together in a complex global
system of interaction and interdependence. Thus we need
to anticipate the problems arising from the rapid
growth of our cities. More importantly we must cope
with these problems effectively through sound,
innovative planning and design to provide quality
living for our people. This congress therefore presents
a good opportunity to discuss the harnessing of the
forces of globalisation in the property sector for
mutual benefit.
17. Malaysia faces challenges at both the global and
domestic fronts. Globally the rules of competition have
changed with the coming of the Information Age and a
more integrated global economy as well as greater
liberalisation of the market. A country's competitive
advantage is no longer dependent on factors such as
labour, land, natural resources but on its potential to
produce, acquire, utilise and disseminate knowledge. In
this respect the government will introduce appropriate
measures to develop greater economic resilience to
enable the country to withstand the negative impact as
a result of globalisation. The corporate sector will
need to strengthen itself by focusing on their core
activity, improving efficiency and productivity as well
as enhancing their administrative and financial
management capabilities. They must also achieve a
higher standard of professionalism and maintain their
credibility and integrity.
18. In line with the ICT revolution, Malaysia
established the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996
to provide the catalyst for IT development in the
country. To provide a more formal and focused structure
of IT policy and programme, the National Information
Technology Council (NITC) comprising members from the
public and private sectors was established. NITC has
launched five strategic agenda; E-Learning, E-
Community, E-Public Service, E-Sovereignty and E-
Economy.
19. The Government will encourage the private sector
to focus their efforts on the provision of IT and
establish educational institution and training
programmes at the degree and diploma level. The
educational and training programmes are expected to
provide knowledgeable, highly-skilled manpower who are
computer literate, disciplined, possessing high moral
values and good work ethics.
20. The Government will also promote R&D activities
related to production of cheaper building materials and
better construction techniques with a view to improving
the quality and safety of houses and ensuring their
affordability. The property sector will also address a
more broad-based agenda such as fulfilling the needs of
the elderly and disabled, energy efficient design and
garden city concept. Emphasis will be given to the
maintenance of high-rise building.
21. I hope this congress will be very productive and
exciting. It offers opportunities to evolve new ideas
to further enhance the property sector.
22. I am confident that this congress will become an
unforgettable event for all the participants for many
years to come.
23. On this note, I have great pleasure in officially
declaring open the FIABCI World Congress 2002.
Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri
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