Pulau Melaka property buyers don’t want state’s help
10/06/2007 Sunday Star By Steven Daniel

MALACCA: The state government wants to step in and help 800 buyers who bought apartments and shoplots on the manmade island of Pulau Melaka by reviving the abandoned projects there. But the buyers feel the state will only make thing worse just as they have brought matters under control.

The project was to have been completed by the end of 2000 but the developer not only failed to complete it but also ran up an unpaid quit rent of RM2.5mil.

In the state executive council's meeting on Wednesday, it decided to take action against developers who failed to deliver and to help revive as many of the abandoned projects as possible – one of which is the project on Pulau Melaka.

However, the buyers feel that the government’s help “threatens” to derail the project again.

The developer had wound up and, from early May, a liquidation company had taken over and pledged to revive the project.

Pulau Melaka purchasers’ action committee treasurer Leong Think Huak, who highlighted the matter through DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng yesterday, said that just when the committee had hopes of seeing the project completed that hope was trashed with the state government stepping in.

“Although the government wants to help the purchasers, how do the new developers intend to complete it if they already have a huge debt of RM2.5million to pay?” asked Lim.

Leong felt that it was best to leave the project’s revival to the liquidator as taking action against the developer could prolong matters.

When contacted, a spokesman from the liquidation firm said it needed at least eight to 10 months to reassess the situation.

“We need to lease out tenders, review contractors, balance the accounts and even appeal the quit rent amount imposed by the state”, the spokesman told The Star.

Meanwhile, State Housing, Local Government, Environment and Transport Committee chairman Koh Nai Kwong said a meeting involving the purchasers, developers and himself would be held next week.