Buyers unhappy with proposal
The Star 8/10/2005 By PRISCILLA DIELENBERG

THE developer of the stalled Mutiara Perdana (Phase II) low-cost flats in Bayan Lepas, Penang, is asking all the 650 purchasers to drop their demand for compensation for late delivery.

In return, the developer will not ask for the additional RM1,100 per unit when it hands over the keys to the buyers.

PPH Resorts (Pg) Sdn Bhd general manager Azmi Yusoff said the RM1,100 per unit was meant to be channelled to the sinking fund and various charges such as maintenance fees and quit rent.

This proposal, which was brought up for the second time at a meeting with buyers at the project site recently, was met with dissatisfaction by most of those present although 350 purchasers had already agreed to it.

It is learnt that out of the 200-odd buyers who attended the meeting, only nine agreed to forgo their compensation while 149 refused. The others did not return their forms.

Clerk N. Ruslan, 30, said her husband had bought a unit in late 1999 and it was supposed to be completed by early 2003.

“We want our compensation. Who doesn't? But give us our homes first,” she said.

Businessman Jamhari Idrus, 41, said he had suffered long enough.

“If the developer cannot afford to pay us like it claims, what is the point of dragging on the matter?

“If we agree not to seek compensation, maybe the whole thing will get settled soon. Besides, I have already spent so much, I don't want to pay another RM1,100,” he said.

Mutiara Perdana (Phase II) Purchasers Action Committee chairman Abdul Razak Ismail said that if the developer could not pay compensation in terms of cash, it could provide fixtures and facilities such as a children's playground or deduct the equivalent in loan balance from the bank.

He estimated the liquidated ascertained damages (LAD) for late delivery at between RM10,000 and RM15,000 per unit, which would come to between RM6.5mil and RM9.7mil for the project.

However, Azmi said he estimated the LAD to be about RM8,000 per unit, which would come to about RM5.2mil.

Azmi said his company's financial situation was dire and he was in the midst of negotiating with another developer to complete the project.

State Housing, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Syed Amerruddin Syed Ahmad, who was present at the meeting, said he would arrange a meeting between the developer and the buyers' representatives at his office soon to try and reach a solution.

On Thursday night, Abdul Razak lodged a report at the Bayan Lepas police station claiming that he represented the purchasers and they had all been cheated by the developer.