KOTA BARU: The Malaysian Malay Contractors Association hopes that the government will review the schedule of work rate for contractors following the rising costs of construction materials.

The association's president Datuk Mohd Rosdi Abdul Aziz said this is to enable the Variation Of Price (VOP) to benefit all categories of contractors, not just certain contractors.

"Previously, the VOP only involves contractors from G3 to G7 categorees who carry out projects valued of up to RM500,000.

"The small contractors from the G1 to G2 categories who are involved in projects below RM500,000 will not get the benefit.

"Therefore, the association would like to suggest the government to review the schedule of work rate so that it will ease the burden of the affected contractors," he said in a statement.

He added there were 133,000 licensed contractors in the country with more than 26,000 of them active contractors.

"The association would like to thank the government for its efforts to introduce the VOP clause as it will help ease the burden suffered by the association's members.

"We have about 70,000 members throughout the country," he added.

On July 16, Deputy Works Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said the ministry expects the VOP mechanism, to help contractors affected by rising costs of construction materials, to be implemented in a few months.

He said so far, the ministry had recorded the construction materials costs to have increased between seven to eight per cent.

Ahmad said contractors who carried out projects before the diesel subsidy rationalisation was introduced on June 10 were unaffected.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/1078120/malay-contractors-urge-review-work-rates-amid-rising-construction-costs