Quality will not suffer, says Ka Ting
The Star 27/11/2003 By Foong Pek Yee and Clarence Chua

KUALA LUMPUR: Applications for certificates of fitness for occupation (CFO) for houses are to be vetted by the one-stop centre and approved by the respective local authority from Monday.

All relevant technical agencies or departments are well represented at the one-stop centre and there is no compromise on quality and safety while cutting down red tape.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, in stressing this yesterday, said the new ruling came following in-depth studies and discussions at all levels, including at the Cabinet Committee on National Competitiveness, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“This is also in tandem with the Prime Minister’s call for a more efficient and transparent system of governance.

“The new ruling has also taken into account the interest and safety of the buyers,” he said here yesterday.

Ong said that under the new ruling, the certification of completed works by the respective professionals like engineers and architects must be based on approved specifications in the building plans.

These building plans must be approved by the Government before developers could even advertise and sell their projects, he added.

At Abdullah’s open house here earlier, Ong reiterated: “What we are cutting down are repeated inspections by different departments. The safety of the building still has to be checked by the one-stop centre.”

Architects and engineers employed by the developers would be responsible for certifying that they had complied with approved specifications but they would play no part in the process of approving the CFO, he explained.

“Ultimately, the CFO approval is by the local council,” he said.

House Buyers Association (HBA) secretary-general Chang Kim Loong was quoted on Monday as saying that the association was against the prospect of allowing architects to certify approved building plans but it welcomed the move to eradicate bureaucracy.

Chang said there were fears of possible abuse if architects were allowed to certify approved building plans.

On procedures under the new ruling, Local Government Department deputy director-general Fong Tian Yong explained yesterday that prior to Dec 1, CFO applications must go through seven departments – the telecommunications service provider, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, state water authority, Public Works Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department, Fire and Rescue Department and Sewerage Services Department.

He said applications for CFO under the new ruling were divided into two categories – residential units 18m and below in height; and residential units above 18m and all other non-residential units like commercial and industrial buildings irrespective of height.

Under the new ruling, CFO applications for residential units 18m and below in height only needed to go through the Sewerage Services Department and the internal technical agencies under the local authorities like the departments for building, engineering and urban services, he said.

For those with lifts, they also needed approval from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, he added.

As for the second category, Fong said, they needed to go through all the stages mentioned above plus the Fire and Rescue Department

“The introduction of self-certification by respective professionals is to resolve the holding period by technical agencies or departments to check completed works and grant recommendations.

“Professionals are also ultimately accountable for the certifications they make,” he said.

Ong and Fong felt that Chang had responded to the new ruling based on a different understanding of the system and hoped HBA would check with the ministry for more accurate details before making any comment.