06/09/1999 The Star  By  T. S. Tan, North Point, Hong Kong (via e-mail)

IT IS heartening to learn from your news website that the Federal Government plans to amend the Housing Developer Act and the Strata Title Act.

There are already regulations in place to protect housebuyers but, unfortunately, they are not enforced.

As a result, developers blatantly flout the law at the expense of housebuyers.

How many government officials and Members of Parliament are fully aware of the uneasy feeling among residents that it is increasingly crowded and insecure living in their housing estates?

Think again, and they will probably draw some eye-opening conclusions that seemingly do not occur to developers, local government officials, and land and
housing representatives.

A case in point is that at a high-rise condominium, only two lifts serve 20 floors, each with 12 to 16 apartments.

In simple arithmetic, the lifts are constantly used by more than 1,200 residents in the condominium.

From the outset, the authorities should not have approved the building plan.

Even in high-density Hong Kong, the authorities would not allow developers to cut costs at the peril of housebuyers.

In Malaysia, however, this situation is evident at both government-built blocks and privately developed condominiums.

In some housing estates dotted with flats, there is no sign of a playground, a community centre, a school, a clinic or even a cluster of trees.

Developers are building concrete jungles in the suburbs where greenery has to make way for vested interests.

Where are the green belts?

They will reappear, perhaps, in two or three decades--as they did in some Western countries--after the destruction of natural scenery and demolition of lush hills.

That's hindsight.

In many low-cost flats and upmarket apartments, there is an acute shortage of electrical switches, circuit breakers, and plug points--another cost-cutting stratagem adopted by developers.

Prudent residents resort to rewiring or the installation of additional electrical connections.

For the most thrifty residents, however, the fastest and cheapest solution is to add adapters to one point whenever the need arises.

The result? Overloading. Fire hazard? Who cares? Summon the fire brigade when a fire breaks out. By the look of things, the stage is set for future havoc to strike. Keep your fingers crossed and pray that you are out of harm's way.

In keeping with tradition, a commission of inquiry will be established should a tragedy occur. Let time tell. And let fate decide. Isn't it time to turn the tables on irresponsible, unscrupulous developers?

There are some simple, common sense measures to take and they include:

FREEZING the assets of developers who flout the law;

GET rid of your MP who appears on the scene only when a disaster strikes;

DON'T pay any management fee until your developer delivers the goods and fulfils all the commitments and;

RETAIN 20% of the full payment until the strata title is issued.

In short, it is time for the authorities to get their act together--and for developers to clean up their act.