PROPERTY: VOTING PROCEDURE

Voting procedure
21/07/2009 NST

JESSYLINA MAT LAZIM, Chief of Corporate Communications,for Chief Secretary,Housing and Local Government Ministry

I REFER to letter from J.L. Yeoh of Kuala Lumpur on property management and the use of proxies by condominium owners ("Clarify this proxy issue" -- NST, July 13).

The Housing and Local Government Ministry would like to thank Yeoh for his views.

According to the coordinating section of the Building Commissioner, National Housing Department, the Building And Common Property Maintenance And Management Act 2007 (Act 663) is in force in the interim period before the strata title is issued to the buyer.

The official report contained in Parliament's Hansard states that Parliament's original intent in enforcing Act 663 is to reduce the involvement of developers as well as provide an opportunity to buyers through the joint management body to take over the maintenance and management of a particular building before the establishment of the management corporation under the Strata Title Act (Act 663).

Sub-section 6 (5) of Act 663 states: "Notwithstanding subsection (4), joint purchasers shall not be entitled to vote except by way of a jointly appointed proxy." This is because the voting takes place by a show of hands, which limits a buyer to only one vote. Thus, joint purchasers will have to appoint a proxy jointly to represent them at the vote.

For sole purchasers, Act 663 is silent in regard to the appointment of a proxy. However, to prevent others apart from the buyers themselves being involved in the management transactions of a building, a proxy is only allowed for joint buyers, as is clearly stated in sub-Section 6 (5) of Act 663.

If a sole purchaser is allowed to appoint a proxy, it will go against the original intent of Parliament as stated during debate on the Building and Common Property Maintenance and Management Act, which said that the reason this act was enforced was to provide opportunity to purchasers to maintain and manage their own building premises before the strata title is issued.