Originating from a humble beginning as an Association for
house buyers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor and the vicinity of the Klang
Valley region, HBA has now evolved into a National organisation that is
geared towards undertaking a wider range and scope of activities
throughout the country.
A home is a basic human necessity and yet
there are so many unfortunate people who have had their dreams of owning
them shattered. What is more sorrowful is that most of these cases
involve house buyers in the lower income group.
Strictly committed to its Charter in the
search of solutions to problems as a result of prejudicial treatment by
some housing developers, the HBA has proposed that punitive actions to be
taken against those unscrupulous developers as a deterrent to the rest.
As one of its
initial projects, the HBA has produced a House Buyers Guide Book to
pre-warn house buyers to be prudent with their purchases of houses and to
be mindful of the pointers stated in the Book before committing themselves
to the purchase. They are advised to consult their own lawyers or avail
themselves to the services rendered by HBA before signing the sales and
purchase agreements.
The HBA has held “Meeting the Public”
sessions, twice a month on the first and third Saturdays (from 2 to 5pm),
to attend to the woes and predicaments of house buyers and to propose
possible solutions to their problems. And because of the overwhelming
response from complainants these sessions functioned by volunteers, has
now been extended to every Saturday except for public holidays from 1pm
to 5pm. Unresolved cases are brought to the attention of the Ministry
of Housing and Local Government or the Ministry of Land & Cooperatives and
other relevant authorities to be further investigated and appropriately
dealt with. The HBA has also taken the lead to act as mediators in
disputes between house buyers and the developers wherever possible. Our
objective in such occasions is to attain a win-win solution.
The HBA was also
instrumental in the dialogues with relevant expertise during the course of
reviewing the amendments to the Housing Development (Control and
Licensing) Act 1966, which was passed by Parliament last year. There are
several more laws that the HBA has mooted and these shall be announced
from time to time.
House buyers are urged to give their full
support to the Association so that we are able to carry out our noble
objective of seeking protection for their rights. Their contributions in
the form of expertise, ideas for improvement, etc, would go a long way to
strengthen the efforts of the Association in the realisation of an orderly housing industry system for the
benefit of the people in the country.
Yang Berbahagia
Datuk Hj. Zainuddin Hj. Bachik |
