Committee wants more bite
10/07/2007 The Star By Bavani M.

The Condominium, Apartments and Highrise Committee (CAHC) is putting together a working paper to get more residents in the Federal Territory to join the committee to help tackle housing woes

Public housing: A file picture of PPR Intan Baiduri where residents are facing parking woes.
THE Condominium, Apartments and Highrise Committee (CAHC) is putting together a working paper to meet up with the Kuala Lumpur mayor as well as various residents' associations and rukun tetangga (RTs) in the city to get more residents to join the committee and strengthen its team.

“So far, our visits to the DBKL housing department have come to nought as the officers there informed us they had not received any directive from the mayor Datuk Ab Hakim Borhan to meet us,” said CAHC pro-tem vice chairman Khong Chee Seng

According to Khong, there is a need for a similar body in every state in Malaysia as CAHC is not there to solve problems but to educate as well.

“As we go along solving housing woes nationwide, we learn and pick up new information along the way and when we face a similar situation in another State, we are better equipped to handle the problem,” he said.

“We want people to feel safe and be equipped with information because knowledge is power and when you know your rights, no one can cheat you,” said Khong.

Khong said the aim of the committee was to train as many consumers as possible and local authorities should recognise organisations like CAHC and work together to improve housing culture.

“The reason there are many problems related to housing, particularly in regards to owners, management corporations and developers, is because property owners are never united in their fight for transparency,” he said.

Khong said that since the formation of CAHC, even developers were coming forward to assist and local councils should also follow suit.

Currently, CAHC has 49 condos and apartments under its banner.

Not isolated: Problems have cropped up even in public housing like PPR Seri Sabah here.
Kuala Lumpur residents feel that there is a need for a similar organisation not related to any government body or political party to fight issues especially in relation to housing in the Federal Territory.

“CAHC is not affiliated to any political party and, therefore, it is neutral when addressing housing issues and that’s what we need,” said Raman Mohan, a resident of Brem Park Condo in Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park.

Residents Association of Palm Court Condominium in Brickfields member S.K.K Naidu said Kuala Lumpur folks must unite when it came to tackling housing issues.

Palm Court residents association president P. Tirunaukarasu said they had been fighting the developers for years with no solution in sight.

”We need an organisation to enforce the law and it would be good to have judges and director-generals sitting in the committee - but no politicians please,” he said.


Big scale: Bukit OUG Condo is one of the biggest in Kuala Lumpur.
Indeed, with thousands of condominiums, medium and low cost apartments, including DBKL’s PPR housing in the city, complaints and problems related to housing woes are the most prevalent.

Based on statistics by the National House Buyers Association (HBA), problems related to apartments and condos form almost 50% of the complaints received by owners in 2005 and the bulk concerns the non-issuance of strata titles and management problems.

The residents of Bukit OUG Condominiums were involved in a dispute with the management company and developer last year and know only too well what it’s like to fight a losing battle.

Young: No one was willing to help us.
Bukit OUG Residents Association president Adrian Young said after much public outcry, the RA was finally given the green light to manage the condominiums as owners of the units, provided they appoint a registered valuer to professionally manage Bukit OUG Condominiums.

When interviewed last year, Young described the whole fiasco as a “David and Goliath” scenario as no one, not even people from the Housing Ministry, wanted to help them.

Venice Hill residents association president Cheong Sze Hoong said that an organization like CAHC should ideally be set up nationwide.

Khong commended Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting for introducing the Building and Common Property (maintenance and management) Act 2007.

The act seeks to protect buyers before the strata title is issued by making it a requirement for developers to form a Joint Management body with purchasers; giving them a say in matters relating to their properties.

“Together with the act and coupled with CAHC, property owners rights are safeguarded. We need all the help we can get and I think that even DBKL should be involved.” Khong said.

Khong said the need in Kuala Lumpur is dire as even DBKL’s PPR housing projects are riddled with all kinds of problems.

“Basic facilities like the lack of car park bays is a big problem in government housing schemes and lack of information, miscommunication and even being ignorant of the law are some of the reasons why people get cheated by developers,” he said.