Tribunal to hear grouses outside Klang Valley

06/07/2004 The Star BY LOONG MENG YEE

SHAH ALAM: The Housing Tribunal will start hearing complaints by disgruntled buyers outside the Klang Valley next month, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said.

“The tribunal will start off in Penang and Kedah. It has been hearing complaints at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and it is time to look into the plight of dissatisfied housebuyers outside the Klang Valley,” he said.

Ong said developers must abide by the tribunal's decisions as the Court of Appeal had ruled on Dec 18 that the tribunal had jurisdiction to adjudicate disputes over properties bought before Feb 1, 2002 – the date the tribunal took effect.

He urged developers who had been directed by the tribunal to compensate housebuyers to pay up or risk being hauled to court by the ministry.

Errant developers would also be blacklisted, making it difficult for them to obtain approval from the ministry for future projects, he said.

“The ministry is in the process of drawing up papers to bring errant developers to court. It will be helpful if compensated housebuyers could contact us so that we can update our records,” said Ong after witnessing a cheque presentation ceremony at the Kemuning Utama sales office here.

Kemuning Utama had contributed RM500,000 to assist in the construction of SRK Chung Hua.

The national-type Chinese school is relocating from Klang to Kota Kemuning here.

The school, which would cost about RM7mil, would accommodate up to 2,000 pupils.

It is expected to be ready in 2006.

On the demand for places in Chinese schools, Ong said more non-Chinese parents were sending their children to Chinese schools to learn an additional language.

“With the emergence of China as a economic giant, many non-Chinese parents are leaning towards equipping their children with Mandarin to ensure they have another asset to rely on,” said Ong.

He added that the education system, which incorporated the needs of the different races in Malaysia, had worked well to produce multi-lingual and skilled human resources.

Ong thanked Kemuning Utama for its financial support, saying a corporation would be remembered for its generous contributions to society.