Consumers may have to pay more, say contractors
25/06/2007 NST

KUALA LUMPUR, Mon:

Thousands of contractors are worried that short-term changes in the cost structure of building materials will result in property buyers having to pay more.

The Master Builders Association Malaysia says the chief grievance is the fixing of prices of materials like cement and steel under the proposed automatic pricing mechanism.

Its president, Patrick Wong, said in the event of a price increase, contractors would find themselves in a bind as the value of their contracts had been determined earlier.

"In the end, they will have no choice but to pass the extra cost to buyers," he said at a forum on issues on building materials and the Certificate of Completion and Compliance at Desa Business Park yesterday.

The forum was held in conjunction with the association’s 53rd annual general meeting.

Wong said frequent price increases of building materials would have a big impact on projects, which normally take between two and three years to complete.

He said the quarterly price reviews proposed under the mechanism would be unfair to contractors.

"We are facing a tough battle. We hope the government would allow us to import steel bars and billets until the situation stabilises," he said, add-ing the association would seek a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to present their case.

Association vice-president Kwan Foh Kwai said though prices had been fixed, contractors still had to pay more for their supply.

Ahmad Zaki Resources Berhad managing director Datuk Wan Zakariah Muda proposed that contractors, who were members of the Construction Industry Development Board, raise their problems with the board.

The forum also debated on the Certificate of Completion and Compliance in place of the Certificate of Fitness for Occupation.

The main contention was on the liability of the approving signatory and how and who should certify completed buildings.