Crying foul over poor maintenance
20/04/2007 The Star By David Tan

SOME 500 residents and 20 shop operators at Block 344 Pintasan Cecil in Penang are fuming over the condition of the common toilets at their block.

Jessica Tan, who works at a florist shop on the ground floor of Block 344, said all the four toilets in the block were not in proper working condition.

“The water pipe of one toilet is broken, while the water supply to the other three toilets is slow. Furthermore, the toilet bowls for the four toilets are always choked, and the tiles and sinks are badly damaged.

“This problem has been ongoing for over six months already. We pay our maintenance fees every month, yet this is the type of service we are getting.

“We have stopped paying the fee for April ,” she said.

The residents, depending on the size of their flats, pay between RM15 and RM40 for maintenance, while commercial premises pay between RM80 to RM90.

Ong Chin Eng, a shop assistant for a dry ice company, said if you have a stomach upset you would have a problem finding a spot to ease yourself.

Penang DAP Action Team chief Tham Weng Fatt said he would be making arrangements to see the management company of the block, Key Building Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile, Key Building managing director W.T Aw said the company had to reduce the water supply to prevent excessive usage by the hawkers who operated at night around the block, and to prevent drug addicts from using the toilets.

Aw said when they replaced PDC Setia Urus Sdn Bhd over a year ago as the management company, the water bill was over RM500 per month for the four toilets.

“After reducing the water supply, we managed to save the water bill by about 30%,” he said.

Aw said Key Building would not repair the toilets because the maintenance fee paid was suf-ficient to cover only the electricity bill for the common area of the block and other general main-tenance charges, but not enough for toilet repairs.

“We have requested for the maintenance fee to be adjusted, but the management council of Block 344, comprising owners of the flats, refused to give approval.

“A reasonable maintenance fee should be at least RM50 for the residential units and about RM150 for the commercial premises,” he said.

Built more than 20 years ago by Penang Development Corporation (PDC), Block 344 comprised 120 units of low-cost flats and 20 shop lots.