UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has questioned Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s claim that high house prices in Johor are the result of the state government’s failure to provide enough affordable homes.
In a Facebook post, Akmal argued that official housing price data shows the highest average house prices in Malaysia are actually recorded in Kuala Lumpur, followed by Selangor, rather than Johor.
He pointed out that Kuala Lumpur is administered under a federal minister appointed by the Prime Minister, while Selangor is governed by Pakatan Harapan (PH), the coalition chaired by Anwar himself.
Referring to publicly available housing price statistics, Akmal questioned whether the Prime Minister would also accept responsibility for the higher property prices in those areas.
“If Kuala Lumpur and Selangor have much higher average house prices than Johor, does that also mean the federal government and the PH-led Selangor government have failed?” he wrote, adding that the information could be easily verified through publicly available data.
Akmal’s remarks came in response to Anwar’s recent criticism of the Barisan Nasional (BN)-led Johor administration during the ongoing Johor state election campaign.
The Prime Minister, who is also PH chairman, reportedly claimed that the Johor government had neglected the welfare of the people, including by failing to provide sufficient affordable housing for residents.
The exchange has added to the growing political debate ahead of polling day, with housing affordability emerging as one of the key issues raised by both the government and opposition during the campaign.
Johor voters will head to the polls as political parties continue to trade criticism over governance, cost-of-living issues and their respective records in delivering affordable housing.
