By Marlynda Meraw
KUCHING, Dec 3: Developers in Sarawak who are associated with, or cause a housing project to be abandoned, face imminent blacklisting says Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG) Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.
He highlighted the Sarawak government’s commitment to safeguarding homebuyers, noting that stringent enforcement actions, including the freezing of Housing Development Accounts (HDA) and blacklisting are being ramped up.
“Developers associated with any declared abandoned project whom either abandoned or cause to be abandoned, will be subject to blacklisting, and upon such declaration, my Ministry will consider taking firm actions against them,” he said during the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) sitting today.
Dr Sim, who is also Batu Kawah assemblyman, shared that MPHLG had issued at least 20 compounds to developers committing various offences under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Ordinance, 2013.
Beyond the blacklisting warning, the Ministry has taken definitive enforcement steps, including the freezing of HDA against two developers who failed to adhere to the statutory requirements of the Ordinance.
Enforcement actions, however, are not limited to developers, said Dr Sim, as MPHLG also scrutinises the conduct of professional persons such as architects and engineers engaged or employed by a housing developer.
To date, MPHLG has reported one such case involving the misconduct of an architect in relation to a housing project, which resulted in the professional being fined RM60,000 by Board of Architects Malaysia.
In ensuring transparency and public accountability, Dr Sim said his Ministry has published the list of abandoned projects on its official website for public reference.
“This measure serves as a firm reminder to errant developers that they must fulfil their responsibilities and contractual obligations. It also reflects the seriousness with which my Ministry views this matter,” he asserted.
Responding to Tellian assemblyman Royston Valentine, Dr Sim shared that his Ministry has identified a total of 647 projects across Sarawak.
He added that since a task force, the Jawatankuasa Teknikal Pemantauan Projek Perumahan was formed and led by Pelawan assemblyman Datuk Michael Tiang Ming Tee, 43 out of 57 problematic projects (75 per cent) are successfully solved.
“With the remaining 13 projects which are currently at various stages of intervention and one housing project having been declared as abandoned, the percentage of problematic projects is very small at 2 per cent,” said Dr Sim. — DayakDaily
