Universally, the production, maintenance, and management of housing have been, and continue to be market-based activities. Nevertheless, since the mid-twentieth century virtually all governments, socialist and liberal alike, have perceived the need to intervene in urban housing markets in support of low-income households who are denied access to the established (private sector) housing market by their lack of financial resources. Malaysia subscribes strongly to the belief that economic development must benefit all its citizens. Principles of market‐friendly, needs‐based, merit-based, and transparency must be applied in the design and implementation of public housing programs, success in public housing is not the result of any single policy but different policies applied at different times.