The Desarina Condominium stands abandoned and dilapidated more than 10 years since construction began in 1994.

Desarina condo buyers left in the lurch
The Star 12/11/2005 By VIVIENNE PAL

WHAT should have been a handsome condominium along the shady avenue of Jalan Desa Utama, Taman Desa, is now a dilapidated lot, left to be ravaged by the elements and petty thieves.  

Already some 80% completed since construction began in 1994, the Desarina Condominium now sports paint-p led walls, thanks to a stall in the project that has left purchasers in a lurch.  

“There was no indication from the developer that they were unable to complete the project. All the units have already been sold. What’s pitiful is that some of the purchasers have taken hefty loans while some have paid cash for their units,” said Desarina Condominium Revival protem committee secretary and purchaser Wong Wai Hoi. 

Committee chairman Lau Boon Kin said: “Why are house buyers like us left to suffer at the mercy of these unscrupulous people?” 

What compounds the issue is that project developer Mega Sakti Sdn Bhd and its main contractor NCK Perumahan Sdn Bhd have since gone into liquidation in the last few years, and that liquidators of both defunct companies are engaged in a series of legal entanglements. 

“They are suing each other for bankruptcy. We didn’t even know there was a legal battle between them in the first place,” said Wong. 

A check with a spokesperson from Mega Sakti Sdn Bhd’s liquidator company, HLB Ler Lum revealed that the developer’s holding company Pembinaan Kien Sinar Sdn Bhd has also folded.  

The spokesperson mentioned that a proposal to revive the project has been submitted to Syarikat Perumahan Negara (SPN).  

He said SPN would revert with a decision by the end of the month. 

For the number of years they have been left waiting, the purchasers’ request is simple – that SPN take up the revival of the project as quickly as possible without additional costs incurred, and that both fighting parties reconcile their differences else where so that the project will not be jeopardised at the expense of the purchasers.  

“The developer’s licence should not be given so freely to prevent this problem from happening. The law should be changed so that purchasers won’t suffer under such developers,” said purchaser Madam Yeoh Poh Lian.