Deceitful developers in Sabah face stern action: Yong
19/07/2004 Daily Express
 
The State Government will closely monitor property developers in the State and take appropriate action against those found to be deceitful or dishonest, said Local Government and Housing Assistant Minister Edward Yong Oui Fah.

He said the Local Government and Housing Ministry would be going through the files of dishonest developers on a case-by-case basis and mete out stern action where necessary.

Among the actions the Government can take is to withdraw a developers five per cent deposit and put it into the Governments coffers for safekeeping.

Were not forfeiting the deposit, we will return the deposit after the developer concerned has resolved the problem or problems affecting its buyers, he said after launching the 3rd Malaysian Developers Council (MDC) meeting, here, on behalf of Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor, Sunday.

Yong said the State Government did not set any time frame to resolve the perennial issue of landed property owners not receiving their land titles, including strata titles.

The matter has been going on for many yearsÖwe also want to help the developers even though our final objective is to help the property buyers, he said.

Recently, Yong was quoted as saying that many landed property owners here have not received their land titles after more than eight years despite having paid all the fees, including premium, subdivision and stamp duty, among others, to the developers.

He said the irresponsible action by the developers was unfair not only to the buyers but also to the Government.

He said if the developer went bankrupt or wound up his company and migrated to other countries, the owners would not be able to sell their properties.

Yong, however, said the Government remained optimistic that the matter would be resolved.

Hopefully, within the next few years, we can sort out the problem, he said.

He said the Government would call for a meeting soon with the Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda), professional bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to come up with ideas for a win-win situation.

Meanwhile, in a speech read by Yong, Hajiji expressed regret that the private sector was reluctant to undertake low-cost housing projects.

It was learnt that the situation stemmed from the rising prices of building materials but not the ceiling price of low-cost houses.

The Government cannot raise the ceiling price of low-cost houses for this would deny the low-income group the opportunity to buy houses, said Hajiji.

Nevertheless, he commended the private sector for their admirable job of building thousands of medium-cost flats.

Housing developers should appreciate the Governments concern for the welfare of the poor, he said.

On the proposed build first and sell later concept and abolition of the Certificate of Fitness, Hajiji said they were not intended to harm or suffocate the industry.

The Government values the immense contribution made by the property sector, including the housing industry, to the overall growth of the economy.

It is a vital component of the national economy and the Government, therefore, cannot afford to impose policy initiatives that can choke the property sector, he said.