HOUSING and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting has to consider the interest of housebuyers in rejecting calls to extend the completion date of housing projects.

The developers may feel they have a good case for the extension as they stand to lose an estimated RM1.2bil in penalty payments for late delivery of the housing units.

However, it cannot be denied that the developers will be able to get out of this potential financial mess with the extension.

Unless they can get such help, some of them could face serious financial difficulties while others may face collapse.

The impact on the industry could also be quite serious as it may not be able to contribute as much to economic growth with this financial threat hanging over it.

The situation is due to the sudden departure of tens of thousands of illegal immigrations following the Government crackdown with the Indonesians forming the bulk of the construction workers.

The August campaign has brought the construction sector to its knees as building projects have to be put on hold due to the labour shortage.

The developers are still waiting for new workers to fill the labour void and it may be another six months to a year before things can return to normal.

Therefore late delivery of houses is inevitable and while any extension is good for the quicker recovery of the industry, what about the interest of the housebuyers and who is going to protect them if not the Government?

For starters, the purchasers will have to keep on servicing their loans and such payments will not cease if the developers should get an extension.

At the same time, many of them also have to pay rent while waiting for their new homes to be ready.

This is therefore a very heavy financial commitment for many buyers.

Any delay will mean incurring additional costs unless of course the instalments could also be put on hold.

However, the financial institutions will have something to say about this new development as they are a party to such transactions.

Unless they agree to defer payments the proposal is not going to work.

The bottom line seems to be that the consumers should not be made to suffer or inconvenienced because the developers have an operational problem for whatever reason.

If the developers are going to get a reprieve, it must be a complete package where the consumers’ interest will be taken into account as well as that of the lenders.

The focus should be on finding replacement workers as quickly as possible.

Though thousands of work permits have been issued, it will take time to get them to come over.

Another worry for the builders is whether the new workers have the required skills to start work immediately. If they should lack the working experience it will require more time to train them.