Exposed on Net

The Star 07/11/2005 BY Devid Rajah

DEVELOPERS BEWARE: The war against rogue housing developers is on. Of the 538 developers listed, 304 have been fined RM 10,000 for failing to hand in their reports and statements. Those on the list also include prominent firms and government-linked companies.

PETALING JAYA: The war against rogue housing developers has been stepped up – their “report cards” are now on public display.

Anyone wishing to check out a particular developer can do so by simply logging on to the Housing and Local Government Ministry’s website – http://www.kpkt.gov.my.

The website contains postings on offences committed by errant developers and court charges brought against them under the Housing Development (Control And Licensing) Act 1966 (Amendment 2002) from January 2003 to September this year.

And a visit to the website shows that a host of errant developers have been recorded nationwide over the 33-month period.

Topping the list of 538 culprits is a licensed Selangor company fined 21 times while another 11 have been fined seven times each and 13, four to six times each, all for licensing-related offences.

Scores of other licensed companies have more than two fines each, and two unlicensed ones have been charged three and 15 times respectively.

Apart from these, 15 developers taken to court for failing to honour awards and decisions of the House Buyers Claims Tribunal are also listed on the website.

Monitoring and Enforcement Division director Dr. G. Parameswaran said the ministry had decided to go public with the names of rogue developers in the interest of house buyers.

This, he noted, was in line with Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting’s mission to serve the public better.

“Anyone can use the information for their own interest as the housing industry involves various parties such as surveyors, engineers, architects, lawyers and bankers.

“But our main concern is to inform house buyers of errant companies that we have acted upon or have taken to court,” he said. If a developer was not listed on the website, he added, the public could still call his division at 03-2099-8325 to check if it had a valid licence to build, advertise and sell housing units.

National House Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong, who described the move as “very encouraging”, called on the public to visit the website.

“This will educate and empower house buyers to make their own decisions before choosing a developer,” he said.

He hoped the ministry would also highlight the names of developers that had been prosecuted and convicted in the media to create more public awareness.

Malaysian Bar Council secretary Ragunath Kesavan concurred.

“The ministry should go a step further by publishing the names of these developers in the local media for those who don’t have access to computers,” he said, noting that revealing the names of errant developers served public interest and would not be defamatory.

Of the 538 developers listed, 304 have been fined RM10,000 each for failure to submit half-yearly reports and statements to the ministry.

Those on the list also include prominent firms and government-linked companies.