Despite numerous complaints of cracks appearing in houses in UEP Subang Jaya's USJ19 as a result of excavation work in a nearby commercial projects, Sime UEP Properties Sdn Bhd's self-contained township nevertheless won the Malaysian chapter's International Real Estate Federation (Fiabci) best residential development award.

The title was presented last night during the federation's annual Award of Distinction. Fiabci president Datuk Alan Tong Kok Mau said the company's ability to produce a sizeable number of houses within such a reasonably short time, priced affordably, and with a wide variety to choose from gave the project an edge over the other contenders.

"Furthermore, one can't run away from complaints when building 1,000 houses. And unless an independent committee is formed to look into these complaints, it is very difficult to make any conclusions." Tong said: "There are handicaps in the sense that there are not many skilled workers to build houses that are defect-free, so there are bound to be teething problems."

As at press time, Sime UEP could not be reached for comments on its win.

However, the honour drew criticism from consumer rights groups which said it reflects negatively on both the way projects were awarded as well as the housing industry at large.

President of the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Association Prof Hamdan Adnan said the judges should take into account feedback from the residents before making their decision.

"They should make sure that no complaints are made against the (developers)," he said.

Echoing this, secretary of the USJ Residents Association Premesh Chandran criticised the organiser for not consulting the residents before selecting the winner of the residential category.

If environment is one of the criteria for selection, there is nothing environment friendly about USJ - we don't have a green lung, no bicycle paths, no pedestrian malls, no LRT," he said.

Secretary-general of the Malaysian House Buyers Association pro-tem committee Tony Chang said that since the company had rectified the problem at an early stage, it would be good not to be too hard on the developer.

"After all, they have done more good over the long run," he said, declining to comment further on the matter.