Blind-sided!
20/12/2007 The Malay Mail By Dawn Chan

Blind housebuyers left in the dark. Six claim MAB turning a deaf ear on their request to transfer ownership

IN 1998, Leong Tak Keong and Wan Zainun Wan Mohamad — both blind — forked out RM25,000 each for two low-cost fl ats in Shah Alam.

They bought the units from the Selangor State Development Corporation through the Malaysian Association for the Blind.

Leong, 52, and Wan Zainun, 48, were told that once completed, MAB would transfer ownership of the units to them. Both were given keys to the flats in 1999 and had been paying utility bills every month, and insurance and quit rent.

But nine years on, MAB still has ownership of the two units.

“Zainun and I paid for the fl ats in full and we deserve to get ownership immediately. We feel that it is not right for the flats to remain under MAB.”

Leong claims that despite many attempts, the association had turned a deaf ear on them and was dragging its feet.

Leong claims that four other housebuyers also face the same problem.

BEING left without a roof over their heads was not an option for Leong Tak Keong and Wan Zainun Wan Mohamad — both blind — after they were asked to vacate their Malaysian Association for the Blind hostel nine years ago. Determined to own a property under their names, they forked out RM25,000 each for a lowcost flat in Shah Alam.

The purchase from developer Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) was made under MAB’s name. Leong and Wan Zainun were told that once the flats in Jalan Tupai 1 in Section 20 were ready, ownership would be transferred to them.

Till today, this promise has not been kept. Leong, 52, said they initially agreed to have the flats, which are next to each other, be put under MAB’s trust for a few years until the sales and purchase agreement was executed. Leong and Wan Zainun, 48, were handed the keys to the flats in 1999.

However, they later realised that they needed MAB to transfer the ownership of the flats to their names. Leong, who spoke on Wan Zainun’s behalf yesterday, said they had been paying monthly electricity and water bills, insurance and quit rent.

“Zainun and I paid for the flats in full and we deserve to get ownership immediately. We feel that it is not right for the flats to remain under MAB’s name.

“The last few years, we asked MAB to declare us as the rightful owners of the flats, but they turned a deaf ear and dragged their feet,” he said.

Leong said despite the countless lawyers’ letters and endless calls, MAB refused to budge.

He added he had no choice but to seek the help of MCA Public Services and Complaint Department head Datuk Michael Chong in February. Only then did things move. Chong contacted MAB’s management and was assured by its executive director, George Thomas, that the matter would be settled.

Not long after that, Leong and Wan Zainun received the ownership transfer forms, which were given by PKNS to MAB.

“We filled out the forms and on March 30, signed the documents at the Commissioner for Oaths. MAB submitted the documents to PKNS on April 9.

“We later learnt that PKNS had, in August, sent back the documents to MAB because they were incomplete. Sadly, MAB decided to sit on it and not inform us,” said Leong.

Leong said PKNS could have worked on the transfer of ownership earlier, which would normally take two weeks. However, he claimed that MAB had sat on it. Leong also said they were misled by MAB into believing that they had got the flats cheap, at RM25,000 each, instead of RM41,000. He said a friend, who is also blind, also bought a unit at the same price (RM25,000), which was the price set by PKNS.

“If we had known that the price was the same, Wan Zainun and I would have bought the units directly from PKNS and got the ownership immediately.” Leong expressed his disappointment with MAB, adding that he had lost confi dence in the association.

“It has been nine years and our patience is running thin. What will happen if one of us were to die? Our family members won’t be able to do anything.

“We are not beggars. Why do we have to go through this to get what is rightfully ours? Is this how MAB treats the blind?”

Their four friends — Nurul Shakina Abdullah, Sazawiyah Said, Rahmah Husin and Maraini Mat Piah — who are paying monthly instalments for their flats, also share the predicament. Maraini, a 42-year-old telephone operator, said:

“I have been having sleepless nights thinking about it. It is a simple thing, yet MAB is taking so long to transfer ownership.

“What if, one day, someone claims ownership of my flat? My friends and I paid the final RM180 monthly instalments in April. Where do we go from here?” she asked.

Maraini said she was told by PKNS that MAB was delaying the transfer of ownership.

MAB assures transfer in a week’s time

MAB executive director George Thomas said he had been in touch with PKNS yesterday on the ownership transfer documents for Leong and his friends.

“I have been communicating with PKNS and was told that the process is now in its final stages,” Thomas said.

“I have been assured by PKNS that it will all be finalised in a week’s time. Leong and his friends will be able to claim complete ownership of the flats then.”

Thomas said the MAB’s resolution that the flats be transferred to Leong and his friends was only passed on Dec 15, and a letter to that effect was sent to PKNS on Tuesday.

Commenting on the claims made by Leong and his friends, Thomas said there could have been a “communication breakdown between the association and the six.”