What to watch in this issue of “Digital View” of Congress?
1. 66% affordable houses sold to young people
2. The government asked Facebook to remove nearly 250,000 harmful contents
3. Child abuse cases dropped by 50% compared to last year
The owners of the affordable housing project 66% are young people.
According to data released by Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming in the Dewan Rakyat, as of September 30 this year, 66% (89,922 units) of the 136,779 affordable housing units developed by National Housing Berhad (SPNB) and 1Malaysia Housing Corporation (PR1MA) were purchased by young people.
In addition, 104,081 units under 166 People’s Housing Projects (Program Perumahan Rakyat, PPR) have been completed, of which 35.9% have owners aged between 31 and 40 years old.
In order to help more Singaporeans realize their dream of owning a home, the government continues to implement the Home Ownership Campaign 2.0 (HOC 2.0), which provides stamp duty exemptions for first-time homebuyers who purchase houses worth RM500,000 or less.
The authorities have also introduced relevant measures in the 2025 Budget, including:
- Personal income tax exemption policy for house purchase: First-time homebuyers who sign a home purchase contract between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2027 can enjoy personal income tax exemption on mortgage interest payments. Among them, the purchase of a house worth less than RM500,000 can receive a tax exemption of up to RM7,000, and for houses worth more than RM500,000 to RM750,000, a tax exemption of up to RM5,000 can be obtained.
- Mortgage security:The government continues to provide mortgage guarantees of up to RM10 billion, benefiting 20,000 home buyers.
- Build more affordable homes：The government has allocated nearly RM900 million to implement 48 People’s Housing Programmes (Program Residensi Rakyat, PRR) and People’s Friendly Housing (Rumah Mesra Rakyat, RMR).
Child abuse cases halved this year compared to last year
The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development revealed in a written reply to Parliament that as of August this year, there were 2,240 child abuse cases nationwide, a decrease of 50% from 4,469 cases in the whole of 2023.
The authorities divide child abuse cases into three categories: physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. In terms of gender, most male victims suffer physical abuse, while most female victims suffer sexual abuse.
In addition, cases related to child sexual crimes are classified into 14 categories, including rape, incest, molestation, child pornography, etc. In the first four months of this year, 2,059 related cases were recorded nationwide, compared with 5,401 last year.
To strengthen the protection of children, the government has introduced a number of measures, including amending the penalties for offences under Section 31 of the Child Act 2001 (neglect of children by parents and guardians), increasing the maximum jail term from 10 to 20 years, raising the maximum fine from RM20,000 to RM50,000, and forcing offenders to perform community service orders.
In addition, the Social Welfare Department launched the "Child Care Program" (Program KASIH) last year, aiming to raise public awareness of child protection through various promotional activities. As of November 5 this year, the program has been implemented in 327 schools, covering 174,079 participants.
The government asked Facebook to remove nearly 250,000 pieces of content, most of which were fraudulent.
Communications Minister Fahmi Mohamed said in the Dewan Rakyat that the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had asked Facebook to remove 249,268 posts this year, of which 91.61 were related to online gambling and scams.
Regarding the authorities' actions being accused of hindering freedom of speech, he stressed that the government can only request the removal of content. As to whether the content will be removed, it ultimately depends on the social media platform and the decision will be made based on community guidelines.
The minister also denied that the authorities had asked social media platforms to remove content critical of the government, adding that anyone could lodge a complaint with the Communications Commission about online content.
“The MCMC does not need to inform me or ask for confirmation before taking action because they have the power to directly engage with these platforms.”
Data and information collection, writing, and graphics: Chen Liyang and Chen Chenghui
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