Kota Kinabalu: The abandoned PacifiCity project will be reviewed to determine if it can be classified as a “sick government project,” said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam.
This follows Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s announcement that 25 out of 1,218 ongoing projects in Sabah are currently considered sick, when chairing the recent State Development Action Council meeting.
He expressed hope that the Federal Government could allocate funds to salvage these projects.
Joachim, who is also the Local Government and Housing Minister, stated that he will examine the matter further during a meeting with the Pacificity Project Purchasers Welfare Association (P3WA) members at Wisma Innoprise.
Joachim said after the PacifiCity developer was declared bankrupt, the entire project was placed under the Director General of Insolvency (DGI).
Finding appropriate “white knights” cannot be decided alone and must be discussed with the Insolvency Department.
However, he assured that the interests of the purchasers are given priority.
The Local Government and Housing Ministry will formally send a letter to Bank Negara Malaysia for necessary action since Pacificity has been declared an abandoned project.
Commercial banks will be notified to stop collecting loans and interest from buyers.
Additionally, the ministry will announce on its website that PacifiCity has been declared an abandoned project.
The ministry will also write to the Insolvency Department informing them that a specific fund has been allocated to provide 24-hour security service at the PacifiCity site to prevent vandalism, upon request by P3WA members.
Currently, P3WA members are paying RM6,000 a month for security expenses.
Meanwhile, Local Government and Housing Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary Stanley Chong said they had written to the Federal Local Government and Housing Ministry requesting funding to save Pacificity.
The current budget for rescuing unfinished projects only covers Peninsular Malaysia and does not include Sabah and Sarawak.
Chong added that there are currently several “white knights” interested in taking over PacifiCity, but the ministry must carefully vet the potential candidates.
