23- year wait

Ministry to probe into abandoned housing project

The Star 20/01/2001 By Susan Tan

The Housing and Local Government Ministry will find out why a housing project which started 23 years ago in Taman Sri Aman, Port Klang was abandoned in 1997.

Its Deputy Minister, Peter Chin Fah Kui Chin, said the ministry would act as a middleman to contact the company directors.

"We have a committee to deal with developers who abandon housing projects.

"But in this case, the buyers appointed a private contractor without a developer's license," he told the reporters after receiving a memorandum from the 63 house buyers of the project.

However, Chin said the ministry could only act as a mediator between the buyers and the company directors.

"We will find out what happened to the project and why it was abandoned in 1997," he said.

Chairmen of the Abandoned Housing Project Committee G. Varatharajan said the landowner K.R. Ramasamy, had enlisted a contractor in 1978 to build 63 houses on his land.

"Ramasamy passed away in 1997 and until today, the housing project has yet to be completed.

"Since 1978, there were five companies which took over the project and now it is under the management of Integrated Land Resources," he said.

Varatharajan said the houses were only 60% complete and the buyers had not heard from the directors of Integrated Land Resources.

"We have tried to contact the directors but the company has closed down," the 38-year-pld technical supervisor said.

The group held a peaceful demonstration outside the ministry.

Varatharajan said the committee had lodged a report on July 20 against the directors. In their report, they alleged that the company had breached the sale and purchase agreement by not  having a valid housing developer's license.