Housebuyers sue Govt
25/04/2007 The Malay Mail By Halim Said

SOME 130 housebuyers sued the Selangor Government, Kuala Selangor Land Office and housing contractor, Bumi Circle Sdn Bhd yesterday for failing to deliver their houses.

In their writ of summons filed with the Shah Alam High Court registrar, the house buyers are seeking special damages amounting to RM3.9 million and RM10.1 million in general damages.

They are also asking for compensation for other damages, interest, relief and legal costs incurred after the defendants failed to complete the housing project by 2005.

The housebuyers claimed that in 1997, the Land Office had distributed brochures and application forms, encouraging the public to apply for plots of land to build houses under the State Goverment’s Kampung Bukit Kerayong expansion scheme.

Four types of development projects were offered under the scheme, ranging from bungalows, double-storey houses and shop lots for between RM138,000 and RM150,000 each.

The project, on a 216 acre land, was named Desa Kerayong Indah.

The housebuyers claimed that they had made pleas and exhausted their avenues in getting the project, which was abandoned in 2002, to proceed.

They also sought the help of the Selangor Government but their efforts proved futile.

Their houses were abandoned, with some at the initial stage of construction while others remained vacant plots.

Some of the completed houses were stripped of electric wires, window panes and other construction materials by thieves.

Yesterday, the housebuyers could not take it anymore.

In the summons, they claimed that based on the brochures, they were made to believe that the State Government was the authority that endorsed and initiated the project while the Land Office was given the task to monitor the progress of the project.

They also claimed that Bumi Circle was the main contractor.

The plaintiffs also claimed they were promised that the development of the housing project would be completed within 36 months.

They also noted that the Selangor Real Estate and Housing Board issued a letter dated April 5 to Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd confirming that the project had been abandoned.

Engineer Kamarolzaman Ismail, 39, said his dream of raising his family at Desa Kerayong Indah had been shattered.

“I had dreamt of having my own home since I was 17. The house was to be my first. I was overjoyed about the project but now I’m fighting to get back my investment,” he told The Malay Mail.

Kamariah Muhammad, 33, an executive, said some of her friends who applied for loans for the project had been blacklisted due to their failure to service the loans.

“I bought the property for my parents in Kelantan,” she said.

The housebuyers were represented by lawyers Wan Shahrizal Wan Ladin and Devano Hasbi.