We don’t mind a hike but keep it reasonable, say consumers

HERE’S one thing that consumers and property developers agree on – safety cannot be compromised.

In fact, many consumers do not mind paying a bit extra for their homes to be more earthquake-resistant, in line with the new building design code, to be ready by October this year.

However, they agree that the potential price hike shouldn’t be too much and kept within reasonable means.

Assistant marketing manager, Aurora Lee, who recently bought an apartment unit with her fiancé, says she doesn’t mind paying a little bit more for her future home to be safer.

“I’m not over the moon about the added cost but I am willing to pay. I know it’s for a justifiable and necessary purpose,” admits the 32-year-old.

Lee says news of local earthquakes in Malaysia has made her slightly fearful.

“Malaysia used to pride itself on being disaster-free. We cannot say that anymore,” she laments.

When the code is approved, each state will have its own jurisdiction to determine when to adopt it to be applied to all new buildings.

For existing buildings, it will be left to the owners’ discretion to seek advice from professional engineers to assess whether such structures need to be upgraded or retrofitted to comply with the code.

Recalling a personal experience, Lee remembers feeling tremors at her former apartment in Kelana Jaya during the 9.1-magnitude Indian Ocean earthquake in 2004.

“I was sitting on a plastic chair at that time and I remember feeling shaken, as though the legs of the chair had given way and broke.

“But when I stood up, I saw there was nothing wrong with the chair,” she says.

Just like Lee, a 31-year-old engineer who wishes to be known only as Liang also believes that the expected higher building costs is “well justified” due to the more stringent code.

He expresses concern that tremors can be felt in Malaysia from distant earthquakes.

“As it is, I do feel a little worried as a condominium resident when a strong earthquake strikes,” he says, adding that the new code would help make him feel safer.

Another condominium resident known only as Johan views the new code as a positive development.

“The code may be more applicable for

those in Sabah, who are closer to the earthquake zone,” says the 32-year-old IT manager.

Agreeing that safety is paramount, Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association patron and past president Datuk Ng Seing Liong however hopes that the building code standards will not incur drastic hikes on construction costs.

He says the need to have such a code has been discussed since the earthquake in Ranau.

“Yes, safety always comes first. There is no doubt about it. But I hope the new code will not impose overly high standards that will lead to heavy costs.

“Hopefully building contractors will be able to absorb the added costs so that it will not be a burden to consumers.

“Otherwise, it would have to be passed down to consumers,” Ng says.

He proposes that different sets of codes be applied in Peninsular and Sabah and Sarawak, with higher standards imposed for more earthquake prone states.

Despite tremors being felt in Peninsular Malaysia, he points out that it hasn’t led to anything major such as buildings collapsing due to disasters in neighbouring regions.

“So far, nothing too serious has happened, except for the events in Sabah,” he adds.

Ng says even though there are more high rise buildings in Malaysia, it doesn’t warrant for standards to be as stringent as earthquake prone countries like Japan.