The unnecessary delay in the approval of development plan (DP) can be easily solved by gazetting the draft local plan, said Sabah Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Shareda) president Datuk Francis Goh.

Goh said the delay in the DP approval can be reduced by at least 24 months by doing so.

He reiterated that obtaining approval for DP was a lengthy procedure which could stretch up to 36 months.

Goh said all the districts in Sabah were still adopting the draft local plan.

"We need the political will to have it tabled and submitted to TYT (Head of State) for the draft local plan to be gazetted, which would then solve all the problems.

"If I win the Kepayan (state seat), I will bring this matter to the State Assembly" he said that when officiating at The United Sabah Chinese Communities Association of Kota Kinabalu (USCCAKK) new office in Wisma Pendidikan here yesterday.

On another issue, Goh also raised the concern of the Chinese community pertaining to the 99-year leasehold tenure upon conversion of land use on Country Lease (CL) 999-year leasehold land titles.

He said losing 900-year lease term was unfair to the Chinese community given that West Malaysia maintained the 999-year leasehold even after submission of the land title for development.

"The main reason I venture into politics is to bring these issues up in the State Assembly so that we can fight for the benefit of our future generations, especially the Chinese community.

"I hope to use MCA as a platform to penetrate into Barisan Nasional (BN) and rectify policies which are disadvantageous to the Chinese community.”

Goh, who is also MCA Sabah State Liaison Committee deputy chairman, said he would officially step down from his post as Shareda president in the 24th annual general meeting (AGM) of the association on March 25 to focus on politics.

The AGM this Saturday will see a straight contest between deputy president Chew Sang Hai and vice president Kong Chung Vui for Shareda presidency, whereas vice president Dato' Ir John Chee Shi Tong and secretary-general Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping are vying for the deputy president post.