Ministry resolving abandoned housing projects
KOTA KINABALU: The Local Government and Housing Ministry pays attention to the progress of housing development projects in Sabah.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, said that the cause for the abandoned Platinum Tower @1Sulaman and Gold Tower @1Sulaman was due to financial constraints experienced by the developer before.
“However, my ministry has taken the initiative by creating a special committee to address this issue. Following this, the ministry has successfully solved the issue of Platinum Tower @ 1Sulaman whereby the occupation certificate has been attained on 4 October 2022. As for Gold Tower @ 1Sulaman, the ministry has discussed with the liquidator and was informed that the appointment of the rescue contractor (White Knight) will be made soon after the agreement of the solution scheme for Gold Tower is achieved.
Masidi also commented on another abandoned project, but in Beaufort which was raised by Sindumin assemblyman Dr Yusof Yacob.
Masidi said that the project had not been categorised as abandoned but is merely a ‘sick’ project whereby it will be continued by the developer once PRIMA and the contractor solve their matters.
“The main factor for the delay in PRIMA projects is due to weakness in the management of finance by the main contractor; the lack of skilled workers and semi-skilled workers at the project site; lack of building materials at the project site; and the erratic weather,” he said at the State Legislative Assembly sitting on Wednesday.
He also commented on two projects, namely, 1Jesselton at Kapayan and Triconic in Penampang.
Masidi said that his ministry had conducted a series of meetings with house buyers and the developer to solve the delay in the 1Jesselton housing project.
“Based on reports by the developer’s consultant, the project is only 12.5 per cent completed. The ministry was also informed that the developer has appointed a new contractor to continue the balance of the work of the housing project until the occupation certificate is acquired.
“The contractor appointed Syarikat LM Partners Sdn Bhd which has already started construction work since 3 October 2022 and the project is expected to be completed by July 2023,” he said.
As for the Triconic development project, the cause of delay to appoint a new developer is due to disputes between several interested parties namely the developer, the bank and the buyers, said Masidi.
“The bank has taken over the management of the original company which is Unicorn Tower Sdn Bhd and has appointed a consulting firm which is UHY Advisory (KL) Sdn Bhd as the official receiver on behalf of the bank to take over the management of Unicorn Tower Sdn Bhd in order to find a solution to the implementation of this project. So far the action that has been taken by the official receiver is to invite several rescue contractors to submit proposals for the implementation and completion of this project. For this matter, the official receiver has issued an advertisement on 7 March 2022,” explained Masidi.
In another matter raised by Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe on provisions in the law linked to housing developers that need to be reviewed, Masidi said that his ministry is reviewing the existing legal provisions by emphasizing the aspect of protecting the rights of home buyers.
“Accordingly, my ministry has held a joint discussion session with the Sabah Law Society (SLS) regarding the amendment to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Enactment, 1978. The amendment to the enactment will be presented in the State Legislative Assembly after the study is completed, taking into account input from all parties involved (stakeholders),” he said.
Masidi also commented that his ministry’s allocation in 2023 is RM204.03 million, which is an increase of RM68.92 million from 2022.
He said that his ministry received RM135.11 million in 2022.
“This increase in allocation by 33.78 per cent shows the State Government’s commitment in ensuring the people of Sabah can enjoy better urban development services. This is in line with the four main thrusts of my ministry which is Transforming Local Authority Service Delivery (PBT), Consolidating and Preserving Housing Sector Development, Sustainable and Systematic Land Use Development Planning, as well as consolidating the Function and Role of Native Courts,” he said.
He said that of the total amount, 12.4 percent or RM25.3 million will go to development expenditure.
In his speech, Masidi also spoke of the developments of Covid-19 and shift to the endemic phase.
“Although we are now more knowledgeable in dealing with the crisis of Covid-19, I request permission to share the latest development of the epidemic situation as of November 29, 2022. It is intended for us to always be prepared and be careful of any possible increase in the reinfection of this virus,” he said.
He added that the spread of Covid-19 is under control and yesterday, only 103 new cases were reported.
“This brings the cumulative cases to 404,700 until now. No deaths were reported yesterday (Tuesday). It seems like Covid-19 infection in the state, overall, is showing a stable trend and new clusters have not been detected since 21 May 2022, even though we just went through the 15th General Election campaign,” he said.