IPOH, Fri: The Perak Consumers Association (PCA) plans to sue the Housing and Local Government Minister for failing to act with due diligence in helping those who bought houses in the Taman Bandar Baru project in Slim River.

PCA claimed Datuk Ting Chew Peh did not use his powers, enacted in the Housing Developers Act 1996, to help buyers of the low-cost units.

PCA president Abdul Rahman Said Ali said the suit will most likely be filed within two weeks. In tracing the events leading to move, he said the housing project began in 1987 and was supposed to have been completed within two years.

However, the first developer could not proceed with the project due to financial difficulties.

The bank auctioned off the property and a new developer came in to complete the project. Abdul Rahman told the Sun at his office that the new developer did not recognise the payments of purchasers, made to the former developer.

"These poor people withdrew their EPF funds to buy the houses. They made several attempts through their action committee but to no avail."

The matter was brought to PCA last year and it took the matter to the Housing and Local Government Ministry and Tanjung Malim member of parliament Datuk Loke Yuan Yow but none bothered, he claimed.

"PCA sent appeal letters to all Ministers and the irony of all this was we were referred back to the Housing and Local Ministry."

A meeting with Abdul Rahman Samad, the director of Enforcement and Control division of the Housing and Local Government Ministry, was held, said the PCA president.

"We asked at the meeting why the minister did not use Section 11 & 12 of the Developers Act to protect the purchasers, to which there was no answers," he said.

He said the director requested a three-month period to sort out matters.

"When the government can rescue banks and big corporations from huge debts, why can't they help these poor people with the RM2 million they had forked out?"