Anxious wait for housing project to be revived

13/02/2008 The Star

I AM one of the victims of an abandoned housing project. Before it happened to me, I had come across many stories of housing projects being abandoned for years but I never imagined that I would be one of the victims.

I bought a house in Mengkuang, Penang, in 2003. Under the S&P agreement, this property was supposed to be completed by 2005.

Unfortunately, a dispute between the developer and the contractor went to the High Court, resulting in the developer being declared a bankrupt.

This happened in 2006. We buyers formed a committee and approached many government agencies on ways to revive the project.

Until today, what we get are empty promises. We have on numerous occasions approached the insolvency department and the standard answer is “Pending update or instruction from KL”.

The Government has promised to help revive abandoned projects but the relevant department seems not too keen.

So please tell us buyers what else we can do. I have been renting a house for about five years and paying bank charges as well.

MAGADAVE RAMESH BATUMALAI,
Bukit Mertajam, Penang.