MyDeposit’s scheme bears fruit

PETALING JAYA (Jan 20): The My First Home Financing Scheme (MyDeposit) — which first opened in April 2016 — has seen some of its applicants finally moving into their homes.

Bernama had interviewed one of the earliest successful applicants to the scheme, whose dream came true after recently moving into a single-storey 3-bedroom house in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong.

Thirty-two-year-old Norjauharatul Wahidah Zakaria, who works as an executive at a private company in Kuala Lumpur, saw her homeownership dream come true after buying a home in 2016, following her successful application.

“To be honest, I had not reached a stage where I could afford a roof over my head, but then, I was thinking it was time to make an effort to buy a house. This is because house prices have been rising every year,” she told Bernama.

She — along with her husband and two children, aged six and eight — moved into their new home in October that same year.

“My dream came true. It doesn't matter how big or small our house is.

“The important thing is that my husband and I and our children have our own roof over our head,” she said.

The MyDeposit scheme — announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on April 6, 2016 — is open to all Malaysians aged 21 and above.

It offers applicants a 10% financing or a maximum loan of RM30,000 for the purchase of homes costing up to RM500,000.

Only those earning a monthly household income of between RM3,000 and RM15,000 are eligible for the scheme.

Priority is given to married couples who have yet to own their first home and cannot afford the 10% down payment required for house purchases.

Universiti Utara Malaysia senior lecturer Muhammad Ridhuan Bos Abdullah said the MyDeposit scheme had made homeownership easier and faster for young Malaysians.

“By putting a ceiling on the house price, it is targeting its financing at the right people — the middle-income group,” said the senior lecturer, who is attached to the university’s School of Economics, Finance and Banking division.

He said the MyDeposit scheme was a continuation of other government-subsidised housing schemes, such as the 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing, the 1Malaysia People's Housing, the People's Housing Project, the Federal Territories Affordable Housing and 1Malaysia People-Friendly Homes.

Applications for this year’s MyDeposit will close on Feb 18.

Interested applicants can register online at the National Housing Management System’s website at https://sprn.kpkt.gov.my/