By William Isau
SIBU, Dec 16: House buyers-turned-victims of ‘sick’ housing projects have demanded an explanation from the person-in-charge of the housing construction company that offered them the affordable housing scheme.
According to Lanang MP Alice Lau, the scheme involved 186 buyers nationwide, and 89 have lodged a police report.
“I want the person-in-charge of the company to come forward and explain to the victims what has gone wrong. If the company is unable to build the houses, they should refund all the monies that the victims have paid,” said Lau at a press conference on Dec 15.
She said the victims had resorted to filing police reports because they feared the company had wronged them and because they could no longer contact the person-in-charge.
She said under the affordable housing scheme, the company, which has branches nationwide, will assist the scheme participants to build houses on their land within six months after they have paid for the construction cost of between RM115,000 and RM130,000 according to the package they chose.
“The victims said the scheme started in May last year. They have paid between 30 and 100 per cent of the construction cost. After making payment, they were promised that the houses would be built within six months. Now they are in a dilemma as nothing has been done,” she said.
She added that some of the victims who had taken personal loans from financial institutions to pay the company had to use their own money to service the loan.
They only realised something was wrong when they discovered that the company had closed all its branches in October.
“Those who made noise (about the matter) were issued non-legal binding letters from the company that forced them to agree to postpone the project. This is very irresponsible of the company as they should have come out to explain to the victims what had gone wrong,” she said.
Lau added she had written a letter to Sibu OCPD Asst Comm Zulkipli Suhaili. She also said that she would write to the authorities and the Minister of Home Affairs, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, to investigate the case and take immediate action.
Meanwhile, the company’s regional manager Sia Ai Kiew was also at the press conference to clarify that she was only a staff and not involved in the case.
“I have lodged a police report as I have received threats from victims. I was only a staff. The company did not even pay my September salary. They have also not contributed to my EPF (Employees Provident Fund) despite deducting my salary for it,” said Sia. — DayakDaily
