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Apartment
residents want corridors to be lit after recent theft
19/11/2009 The Star By THO XIN YI
FOR seven years, residents of Kinrara Court apartment in Puchong had been
nonchalant about not having corridor lights, but a recent crime incident
had them thinking about its importance.
A motorcycle belonging to a foreign resident of Block H was burnt in the
wee hours of the morning on Nov 5.
A group of residents highlighted the issue recently but the discussion
with the joint management body (JMB) turned ugly.
In the dark: The corridor lights of Kinrara Court have been disconnected
since 2002 and the residents hope that they will be functioning again
soon.
JMB chairman Karen Khor said they have had difficulty collecting the
monthly maintenance fees from the residents of the 670 units.
“About 30% of them do not pay up the monthly fee of RM33, which is mainly
utilised to keep the common area clean. The extras will be used to fix
faulty common properties like leaky roofs and gutters.
Although the JMB had over RM70,000 in the bank now, Khor said the JMB and
residents have to consider several options to settle the corridor lights
problem.
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) had requested the JMB to appoint a registered
contractor to check the building’s wiring, and the fees for each staircase
(that has 10 lights) would be RM300.
“There are 67 staircases in Kinrara Court and the monthy electricity bill
would roughly amount to RM4,000.
“The light bulbs and casings might have to be changed, too.
“We will discuss with the residents on how to foot the bills in our next
extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Dec 6. However, increasing the
maintenance fees has always been a sensitive issue,” Khor said.
The other issues raised include the allocation of parking lots and the
purchase of building insurance.
“We have to fork out money from our funds to settle the quit rent too, as
some residents never pay up — they do not realise the importance of
settling the quit rent as sale of any unit in Kinrara Court is forbidden
if there is any arrears,” she said.
Hear me out: Dr Kow (left) listening attentively to Khor.
Selangor MCA Youth chief Dr Kow Cheong Wei, who was also present, hoped
the residents would solve the problems amicably in the next EGM.
“There is no point for the residents to complain and yet not attending the
meeting to voice their concerns.
“I also urge the residents, who have installed lights outside their units,
to switch them on until the issue is settled, and to pay close attention
to any outsiders that might pose safety problems to the community,” he
said.
Khor stressed that the residents who have not settled their maintenance
fees can attend the meeting, but they have no voting rights. |
