Still waiting for their apartments after 15 years
The Star 27/02/2001 By Clarence Chua

MORE than 500 people are still waiting for their apartments in Medan Duta -- 15 years after signing the sales and purchase agreements with the developer.

James Wang, who heads a specially set-up ad-hoc committee, said they signed up for their City Homes apartments priced between RM45,000 and RM80,000 in 1986.

However, he said the project had yet to take off.

He said the original developer went under receivership after a few years.

In 1993, an Abandoned Project Rehabilitation Fund was set up by Bank Negara to resolve the problem. A new developer was to be picked.

"In 1996, a new agreement was signed and another developer took over the project.

"They told us that the apartments would be offered for the same prices and with the original specifications,'' he said.

Wang said not long after this, this developer was bought over by another company who then increased the prices of some of the units.

"We are trying to get our apartments for the past 15 years an want to know what happened to the whole development. We are all in a dilemma,'' he said when met at the House Buyers Association (HBA) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur recently.

HBA secretary-general Chang Kim Loong said if the the Housing Developers Act was adhered to, such incidents would not occur.

"The Housing and Local Government Ministry should make it mandatory for the developers to submit a report on the viability of projects before approvals are given.

"Developers should have a minimum capital of 30% of the project cost to prevent the risk of abandoned projects,'' he added.

"Under the present, Act anyone with RM250,000 can be a developer,'' he pointed out.

Chang said the ministry should press developers to submit their project status reports.