Wind up developers buyers tell
govt
The Sun 14/10/2003
PETALING JAYA: A group of house buyers want the Housing and Local
Government Ministry to wind up Lembah Beringin Sdn Bhd (LBSB) for
abandoning the Lembah Beringin housing project.
Most of the house buyers signed sales and purchase
agreements (S&Ps) with LBSB, a subsidiary of Land & General Bhd (L&G), in
1996.
The project, comprising about 900 units of single- and
double-storey terrace houses in four phases, was scheduled for completion
in 1998.
After five years of waiting and several unsuccessful
attempts to resolve the matter, the house buyers want the ministry to
invoke its powers under section 11 of the Housing Development (Control &
Licensing) Act 1966 (Act 118) & Regulations to wind up the developer.
The powers of that section have never been used before.
"We have been servicing bank loans and making
progressive payments to the developer for five years.
"The developer has not been able to come up with an
acceptable proposal to rehabilitate the stalled project. We want our money
back," said Lembah Beringin house buyers pro tem committee chairman
Gevananthamm Marimuthu.
Gevanantham, who spoke on behalf of about 60 house
buyers, said previous attempts to resolve the matter were unsuccessful.
In 2001, the house buyers formed the committee to seek
help from stateexco member and Kuala Kubu state assemblyman Datuk Ch’ng
Toh Eng, but Ch'ng was unable to resolve the matter.
Another meeting on Oct 7, mediated by Deputy Housing and
Local Government Minister Datuk Peter Chin, also failed to resolve the
matter.
Contacted yesterday; LBSB chief operating officer Muhd
Najib Mohd Rawi admitted that the project has been abandoned.
He said about 60% to 70% of the units were sold before
the project stalled during the 1997 financial Crisis.
He said some buyers, withdrew and some stopped making
the progressive payments, so the company could not pay the contractors,
Neither did it have enough internal funds to continue with the project.
"We tried to revive the project several times in the
past but now the ministry has proposed that Syarikat Perumahan Negara and
Keyvale Consolidated Sdn Bhd revive the project," Muhd Najib said.
Gevanantham said the buyers rejected the proposal
because they were no longer interested in the project.
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