05/07/2004 The Star
Residents at the newly occupied low medium-cost apartment at Gat
Lebuh Macallum are crying foul over the high assessment fee fixed by
the Penang Municipal Council.
One of the residents, Lim Chooi Soon, said they moved into the
apartment in April this year and they had received letters from MPPP
requesting them to pay an assessment fee of RM134 each.
“Our units are priced at only RM50,000 each and we feel that the
assessment fee is excessive,” he said, adding that besides this fee,
they also have to pay maintenance of RM60 per month to the
management company.
Lim, together with several of the residents there, had sought the
help of Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Lee Hack Teik, who agreed that
the assessment fee there was higher than those of other similar
apartments such as those in Gat Lebuh Nordin and Rifle Range.
“The assessment rates for those apartments are less than RM100,”
he said, adding that some houses in Gat Lebuh Macallum were paying
less assessment fees than these units.
Lee said he would help the residents appeal to the council for
the assessment rates to be reduced by about 50%.
The residents also complained against the project management
company for boarding up six of the eight staircases servicing the
four blocks of apartments.
Lim said it was highly incon-venient, not to mention danger posed
when only two staircases were available as access for four blocks of
apartments.
Lee said the management office supervisor later assured residents
that the staircases would be opened once all the four blocks of
apartments have 50% occupancy.
The project, built on the Mutiara Market complex, consists of
three seven-storey blocks and a 20-storey block with a total of 507
units.
