Tilting flats declared unsafe, resident told to vacate by May
The Sun 3/2/2005

PENANG: A five-storey block of 60 units of flats in Bayan Baru, which has tilted by 25cm, has been declared unsafe, and the residents have been told to move out by May.

The block, on Lorong Mahsuri 10, was built by Penang Development Corporation (PDC) in 1981. Cracks began to appear in 1989 because of the differential soil settlement, which caused structural defects.

Since then, PDC has spent RM348,000 trying to rectify the problem, but to no avail.

Ikram, which was called in to investigate and monitor the situation, declared the block unsafe.

PDC, which has accepted responsibility, has offered to buy back all the 60 units of Block H from the residents.

The exercise will cost RM4 million. In addition, RM500 will be given to each family for transportation, and those who are renting units there will be given six months' rental.

Once the block is vacated, PDC will demolish the building and the 0.6ha site will be turned into a "green lung" for the residents as Ikram has advised PDC against rebuilding on the site.

Five other blocks in the area have been declared safe by Ikram, which will continue to monitor them.

At a press conference, PDC general manager Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail said the corporation has offered to pay the residents RM100 a sq ft for their units, which include 10 bedsitters, 11 one-bedroom units and 39 two-bedroom units.

Of the 60 units, 26 are owner-occupied, 29 rented, and five are vacant.

"PDC made several attempts to grout the foundation in 1994 and 2000. However, cracks continued to appear last year," Ahmad Fuad said.

"We commissioned a thorough, detailed investigation and monitoring by Ikram, which concluded that while the building is in no immediate danger of collapsing, it is not safe for long-term dwelling.

"There was further movement following the earthquake on Dee 26, andinstead of wasting time to find out what went wrong or who is to blame, for the safety of the residents, we want them to move out".

PDC is offering the owners of the bedsitter units (256st) RM25,600, which they bought for RM10,000, one bedroom units (429st) RM42,900 (RM17,000) and two-bedroom units (540sf) RM54,000 (RM19,900).