Move to improve workmanship of new houses

The Star 24/01/2001 By Goh Ee Koon

Kuala Lumpur: The amendments to the House Developers Act is among three actions by the Housing and Local Government Ministry's three-pronged plan to improve the level of workmanship of new houses.

The others are a zero-defect homes campaign launched last year and the setting up of an institute to carry out research and development in the sector.

Ministry secretary-general Datuk Khalid Husin said the amendments, which have been tabled in Parliament, would give some legal enforcement to the commitment to workmanship when developers undertake such projects.

He said the zero-defect campaign was a joint effort between the ministry and the Construction Industry Development Board.

"The zero-defect campaign was a voluntary one and aimed specifically at housing developers.

"The ministry does have a set of guidelines that recommends certain standards to be followed, but these are not compulsory," he said.

Khalid was speaking to reporters after he received the New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commission's Citation for his services in developing a strategic alliance between the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia and NSW Rural Fire Service.

Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese presented the award.

However, Khalid added that the number of developers following these guidelines or setting up their own standards to work towards had increased.

Khalid was responding to comments by the Housing Developers Association president Datuk Eddy Chen and Federation of Malaysia Consumers Association president Prof Hamdan Adnan on Monday that shoddy workmanship was caused by developers using unskilled foreign workers.