Take appropriate action against developer: Buyers

Source: The Borneo Post (http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=41281)
By Lim How Pim

KUCHING: Eleven buyers of houses at a residential estate in Stampark here are appealing to the Housing Ministry to take appropriate action against the developer for alleged shoddy workmanship.

YONG: It is the people’s hard-earned money.

The buyers, through Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong, had written a letter to the ministry dated July 9, to report defects on their properties.

Speaking at a news conference here yesterday, Yong said she, together with the 11 house owners, had met two ministry officials last month but so far no proper actions had been taken to resolve the matter.

Nothing had been done despite a promise of a meeting to involve the developer, architects, Kuching City South Council, and the affected residents, she pointed out.

“It is also very unreasonable for the ministry to request the 11 house buyers to resolve the matter on their own through the legal process.”

Yong asserted that the ministry had the authority to issue a warning letter or notice to the developer concerned so that something could be done to compensate the house owners for their losses.

Under the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Ordinance 1993, and Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Regulation 1998, the housing ministry had the absolute right to blacklist any irresponsible developers in the state, she said.

As these housing units were handed over to buyers last year, she said the defects liability period had yet to lapse.

“The Housing Ministry should at least issue a warning to the developer, or better still, blacklist the developer to further protect house buyers,” she said, adding that the 11 double-storeyed terraced houses cost more than RM300,000 each.

She said that she might have to bring the matter to the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) during the next sitting if the ministry still remained silent on it.

“I will continue to pressure the Housing Ministry for solution because these house buyers have spent RM348,000 per unit as stated in their sale and purchase agreement.

“It is the hard-earned money of the people and RM348,000 is not a small amount. The ministry should do something rather than ask the house buyers to look for personal lawyers to fight the case in court,” she said.

Yong said the 11 house buyers approached her as early as last May. While a written reply from the Housing Ministry was received early this month, she said she could not contact the developer for talks. She thus hoped that the authorities concerned and the developer would look into the matter and come up with a win-win solution as soon as possible.