167 flat buyers
get keys but not home
29/10/1999 The Star
A total of 167 buyers are still waiting to move into their low-cost flats
in Batu Maung despite having received their keys two years ago--all because
of a technical fault.
Penang MCA Public Complaints Bureau chief Ooi Chuan Aik said yesterday the
authorities had declined to issue the Certificate of Fitness (CF) to the project
because the buyers were not from the state Housing Department's low-cost housing
list.
He said under the state government's housing policy, low-cost units must be
sold to applicants listed under the state housing list.
"The developer did not comply with the guidelines but sold the units direct
to the public," he said at a dialogue with the affected buyers at the project
site.
The Taman Indah Phase II project, comprising two blocks of five-storey walk
up flats, are priced at RM25,000 each. The units, which were completed two
years ago, are in a bad shape with many window panes smashed, broken doors
and paint peeling off.
Ooi said the buyers should not be penalised through no fault of theirs, adding
that the flats were now in a state of neglect.
He appealed to the state authorities to issue the CF as soon as possible as
most of the buyers were in the lower income group and faced difficulty in
servicing their housing loans and paying rental.
Salesman T. K. Lee said he and the other buyers had been "suffering in silence"
as they were hard pressed in having to pay the bank loan and rental.
"It's painful to see our new flats in such a bad shape since we signed the
sale and purchase agreement five years ago," he lamented.
Ms S. G. Goh, a spokesman of the developer Kumpulan Udara Indah Sdn Bhd, said
they had sent five letters to the various authorities, including the Housing
and Local Government Ministry and Penang Municipal Council, but to no avail.
"I have also personally appealed to the authorities to help resolve the matter,"
she added.
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