SIBU, March 24: Public Health, Housing and Local Government Deputy Minister Michael Tiang welcomes the Kuching High Court’s decision that ruled that Liquidated Ascertained Damages (LAD) for late delivery of properties in Sarawak only starts from the Sales & Purchase Agreement (SPA), not from the date of booking.
Tiang said the decision came at the right time and has cleared the air of confusion among the developers and prospective homeowners in Sarawak.
“The High Court’s decision is important as since the last Federal Court’s decision, the said decision from the apex court has caused huge concerns among developers in Sarawak.
“Today’s High Court decision rightly interprets Sarawak ordinance that the relevant provisions on the subject matter are not the same as the laws in the Peninsular Malaysia,” said Tiang in a press statement today.
Tiang, who is also Pelawan assemblyman explained that the Federal Court in West Malaysia had ruled that LAD starts when the house or apartment buyers paid the booking fee.
The situation however, is different in Sarawak. He said the High Court decision this morning clarified that the booking was not a commitment or a contract, instead, it was only an option for the developers to buyers that they are interested to buy the properties.
“The real contract starts when the buyers signed the sales and purchases agreement,” he said.
Meanwhile, RJ Realty Sdn Bhd had applied for a judicial review in the Kuching High Court for cases where the Sarawak Housing Tribunal have been following the Federal Court’s decision in PJD Regency Sdn Bhd v Tribunal Tuntutan Pembeli Rumah & Anor and Other Appeals in awarding LAD for late delivery of properties from the date of booking.
The decision, according to Tiang, created concern among house developers.
Today, High Court Judicial Commissioner Alexander Siew How Wai ruled that PJD Regency Sdn Bhd v Tribunal Tuntutan Pembeli Rumah & Anor and Other Appeals were decided under West Malaysian Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 and Regulations, which is not applicable in Sarawak.
Siew held that though there are similarities in the wordings, the Sarawak Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Ordinance 2013 are not in pari materia (on the same subject matter) with the West Malaysian Housing Act. — DayakDaily
