Just pay up, Ong tells errant developers

18/06/2004 The Sun By Ng Kee Seng

Kuala Lumpur: Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting says he does not want to be bothered by errant developers who have been taken up to the Housing Tribunal by house buyers.

"Just pay up (the compensation) as awarded by the Tribunal. That is the best and only solution for them ... I wish to remind them that it is a criminal offence to defy the tribunal's decision," he said.

"You have not delivered as per the sale and purchase agreement .. so pay up. There will not be any delay in enforcement, so settle the grouses of the buyers quickly."

Under Section 16AD of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966, errant developers who refuse to comply with the tribunal's decision are liable to a fine of  RM5,000, two year's jail, or both, and a fine of RM1,000 a day for every day's delay in settlement.

Ong said some five years of experience with the ministry had taught him to wise up to the "tricks" of errant developers.

"To turn the construction industry into a first healthy sector, the government, developers and professionals must work together," he said during the Sixth Institution of Surveyors' Malaysia Congress.