Talam shedding low-cost developer image to that of all-rounder
The Star 03/05/2004 Property Talk: A weekly column by S.C. Cheah

TALAM Corp Bhd, one of the biggest developers in the country, is determined to shed its image as a developer of poor quality homes and one that only builds low to medium-cost properties.

It now wants to be known as an all-round developer that promises to deliver not only quality properties but also high-end ones.

Talam executive chairman Tan Sri Chan Ah Chye must be so fed up with the bad reputation that he is putting his foot down for the second, and hopefully final, time.

In 2001, Chan set up a quality audit department to strive for zero defects in Talam's projects and a customer service centre to attend to buyers' enquiries and complaints.

Apparently, problems still bug him and his company, and he frankly admitted at a press conference held at a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur on April 22 that it all boiled down to “human problems” like people failing to follow guidelines and do their jobs properly.


From left: Talam deputy president Ms Chua Kim Lan and members of the board of directors Puan Sri Thong Nyok Choo, Tan Sri Lamin Mohd Yunus, Tan Sri Chan Ah Chye and Tan Sri Abdul Majid Ismail at the launch of Talam Premium Homes.
“The quality audit department is not functioning too well. When a person is non-performing, that person can affect the whole department,” he told the media, including fund managers, when unveiling the Talam Premium Homes brand and logo and a revamped customer service centre now called customer service action centre (CSAC).

“We don't want to talk anymore. We want action. If there are a lot of complaints, you (staff and contractors) get the sack,” he warned, adding that Talam had retrenched no less than 50 of its 150 supervisors.

It has 30 to 40 contractors. If a contractor failed to rectify a fault within two weeks, Talam would do the job and bill the contractor concerned, he added.

In his typical outspoken manner, he revealed how much he abhorred the constant brickbats from purchasers.

“I am not young anymore. I don't want to be cursed. After I retire I want to be remembered for the better side and not for the no-good side,” said the veteran developer, who was voted Property Man of The Year a few years ago.

The sheer size of Talam (listed on Bursa Malaysia) can be seen from the fact that it has contributed about 30% to the Klang Valley's annual output of residential properties and delivered about 68,000 units worth RM7.6bil. Talam has a gross land bank of about 19,868 acres with 11,595 to be developed over the next 12 to 15 years.

About 17,600 units of properties worth RM2.3bil are in various stages of completion. It develops an average of 10,000 to 12,000 units a year and has 20 projects at various stages of completion in the Klang Valley.

It is now a pure property developer, after the completion of the group's restructuring exercise in November 2003. For many years it has focused on affordable, medium-cost property developments with strong demand.

Chan had often said (and he repeated it last week) that only about 400 units or 3% of the 12,000 houses that Talam built received complaints.

“We apologise for it. There is no excuse for developers not to produce quality homes. From today, every home that you buy will be quality houses,” he said, adding that Talam's future premium homes would be in choice locations of a few acres.

“It is no point building these homes in Jerantut where there are no buyers. We are slowly building up our premium homes,” he said, adding that the time was ripe to go into the higher-end market in view of the economic and property market recovery.

The first premium homes, the Bayangan Mewah, in Puncak Jalil near Bukit Jalil, drew very good response when launched on Saturday, April 24. About 60% of the 52 units of 2½-storey houses priced at RM250,000 and above had been sold.

“We sold about RM30mil worth of properties in Puncak Jalil in just two days,” said Talam vice-president (marketing) Adam Yap.

Future premium home projects will include the 90-acre Ukay Perdana 2. To be launched next month, it will comprise 850 double-storey houses priced at RM280,000, 140 semi-detached houses at RM600,000 and 54 shops priced around RM400,000.

Chan must have realised that being profitable is one thing, but Talam also needs to be seen as a forward-looking group. On that score, it has quite to catch up with the other developers.

For instance, the value-added features of its premium homes like 10ft ceiling height, extra large built-up area of 2,000 sq ft, metal door frames, extra power and light points, termite treatment, wall tiles in kitchen and all bathrooms up to ceiling height, have been an industry standard for the past few years.

Current trends are gated and guarded communities, stylish, lifestyle concepts with lots of frills and thrills for wholesome family fun. Take the Ambang Botanic project as an example. It even has a cute island as a children's playground.

Anyway, it's better late than never and Talam's assurance that it will build the infrastructure prior to launching future projects and building show units is a welcome change, and a necessity as today's purchasers expect such upfront investments from developers.

Many developments have achieved good sales partly as a result of the purchasers' confidence upon viewing nice show units and the readiness of a township infrastructure.

Chan recalled an incident when he wanted to enter into a joint venture with a landowner for high-end development. The landowner told him: “You're only a low-cost developer. Can you build high-quality homes?”

There is no doubt in Chan's mind that he can do it. One may ask why is it that despite the negative perceptions, Talam's properties have sold so well. Well, his projects are in good locations and the prices are unbeatable.

With Chan’s commitment to improving quality, Talam is now on a stronger footing to enter the high-end market.