Media Statement by Ngeh Koo Ham in Ipoh on Thursday, 29^th March 2012:

What Transformation is Najib talking about when after more than 3 months a simple circular on the exemption of stamp duties cannot be issued?

Prime Minister Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak presented the 2012 Budget in Parliament on Friday 7 October 2011 and it was subsequently approved.

In the said budget, Parliament had approved the full exemption of stamp duties on housing loan agreements for the purchase of residential properties under the PR1MA scheme which is priced up to RM300,000.00 for the Sales and Purchase Agreements executed from 1 January 2012 until 31 December 2016.

Unfortunately after more than 3 months, the stamp offices have yet to receive the circular with regards to the above said exemption of stamp duties. I have confirmed the same with the Sitiawan stamp office.

Due to this delay in the dissemination of the said circular, housing loan documentations could not be completed causing the release of housing loans to be delayed. Consequently, this has put developers to be in a cash tight situation and causing housing construction projects to slow down.

I call on the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to explain why the said circular on full exemption of housing loans has yet to be issued, and that the same be issued immediately or else no one is going to believe his many alphabet soup Transformation slogans.

* Ngeh Koo Ham, DAP Deputy Secretary General & MP for Beruas