FOR Christopher John and many other aggrieved buyers
of the abandoned Bandar Golden Valley Golf Resort in Jasin, Melaka,
the road towards finding a solution has been long and gruelling.
The resort township, valued at a reported RM380mil
started out as a joint-venture between Yeng Chong Realty Sdn Bhd and
MBSB Development Sdn Bhd (MBSB), a unit of listed Malaysia Building
Society Bhd (MBSB), which is a subsidiary of the Employees Provident
Fund.
Construction was to begin in 1999 and it primarily
involved bungalow lots with a starting price of RM69,000 o nwards.
According to Christopher, the properties were supposed
to be handed over (to the purchasers) in 2002 but it never happened.
“When some of us decided to visit the site in Jasin,
we were shocked to find nothing but an oil palm estate! It remains like
this until today,” he laments.
He is peeved that no one has offered to provide a
clear picture or explanation of what was happening. “This went on for
years, with no one giving a straight answer as to what was truly happening.
Christopher John (third from left) with the
aggrieved house buyers of the abandoned Bandar Golden Valley Golf
Resort development holding copies of the sale and purchase agreements
and brochures of the project.
Purchasers were being kept in the dark, but we were
still being told to continue to pay,” Christopher says.
When contacted, an MBSB spokesperson said that its
role in the project was to provide financing while Yeng Chong would
develop the land. However, things did not happen as planned due to some
“issues” and the project failed to take off.
It is further believed that MBSB is taking legal action
against the developer. A small group of buyers have formed the Bandar
Golden Valley Action Committee (BGVAC) to coordinate its actions. Recently,
with the help and advice of the National House Buyers Association, the
committee met up with the Public Complaints Bureau, bringing together
Yeng Chong, MBSB and the purchasers for the first time.
Unfortunately, he says that there has been no further
meetings. “Nothing has been settled and the situation is a stalemate”,
says Christopher.
However, the MBSB spokesperson says it is planning
to have another meeting with the buyers and developer to find “an amicable
solution.” “The BGVAC comprises about 80 people.
We want to reach out to the other buyers who are probably
still paying and don’t know that the project has been abandoned. We
also want our money back – at market value and with interest. I think
it is only fair,” Christopher says.
