Posers over poor strata property maintenance
Published on: Sunday, October 09, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai described the LPPB-built Kepayan Ridge low-cost flats as one of the examples of poor strata property maintenance in Sabah during a recent Subsidiary Title Owners and Purchasers Association of Sabah (Stops) seminar here."DBKK (City Hall) still collects rubbish from the garbage bin centre there even though the occupants do not pay any maintenance fee to manage their property. "It is a special case as when the general election is about to be held soon, they (the occupants) will make some complaints for the politicians desirous of their votes to do something free for them," he told the audience.
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This begs the question as to why LPPB – the state government agency tasked with building low-cost homes and shops in urban development – failed to show the necessary leadership to assist or to get the occupants to form a management body or corporation after a long wait for their subsidiary titles.Even the shops in Inanam town built by LPPB took some two to three decades to get their titles when the female manager moved from LPPB to the State Tourism Board. Then at Astral Park, there were complaints about a new condominium project on the hill ridge and the change of zoning from recreational park to flats to be built by the Federal Urban Wellbeing Ministry.When the Kota Kinabalu Municipal Council (MPKK) was active in building homes like Taman Sempelang in Sembulan in its Urban Renewal Scheme started since the Berjaya administration, the present Mayor Yeo had to write a letter to then MPKK President Datuk Monggoh Orow to complain about the unacceptable defects in the house that he bought in the Sembulan project.
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This begs the question as to why project supervision by the Superintending Officer of the Architect and the consultants, not to mention from the developer or the contractors, was so poor or lax. Similarly the LPPB-built Kepayan Ridge low-cost flats are in poor conditions and need leadership to resolve many of the problems faced by the occupants. Stops will organise a session for its members only with regard to the collection woes of maintenance fees from strata property in Sabah.
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Yeo stressed that the State Government and Special Task Minister Datuk Teo Chee Kang are looking at improving the law as more strata homes are being built now and in the future.For years, the Taman Public Jaya, which gained notoriety over a Zika virus infected man, also faced problems of management fee collection that the bankrupted developer failed to apply for titles for the owners. The lifts since a long time ago were not working.Another strata housing in Kobusak, Penampang, also by an insolvent or wound-up developer firm involving a still serving politician also saw occupants refusing to pay maintenance fees, leaving the property upkeep and maintenance including sewerage pump to individual occupants to care for.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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