KUCHING, May 1: The Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG) has, through its Technical Committee and Task Force Committee, helped to facilitate the development of RSM 1 and RSM 2 under the Borneo Samariang Resort City Project in Petra Jaya.
Its deputy minister Michael Tiang said the committee focused on ensuring all houses, be it the normal houses constructed in Block 9 and 23 or the affordable homes Rumah Spektra Medium (RSM) in Block 4 and 5, are completed and handed over to their respective house purchasers.
He said the committee had requested the facilitation of the Governor of Bank Negara to review OCBC Bank’s decision to freeze the Housing Development Account (HDA), which is established to ensure all monies paid by the house buyers are kept safely and spent prudently to build and complete the houses.
They had also successfully engaged with Lembaga Pembiayaan Perumahan Sektor Awam (LPPSA) and Borneo Housing Mortgage Finance Berhad to restructure the housing loan involving public servants, other than advising the developer to review its current housing development plan.
“Under the re-planning, the whole scheme of this housing development project has been divided into two main phases. RSM1 and RSM 2 have been categorised as one new phasing and separate blocks by the Land and Survey Department (LSD).
“With this approval from LSD, the ministry has issued separate HDL (Housing Development Loan) for RSM 1. This is to enable a new HDA to be opened, and with this new HDA, the developer will be able to request the respective house financing bank to pay the progress payment as agreed in the Contract of Sale,” said Tiang.
Besides successfully facilitating the developer to install the sub-power station for Block 5 to 18C, he said the committee also urged the developer to submit the integrity test of the houses as required by Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) and to complete the elevated water tank in preparation to accommodate water usage by surrounding community.
The ministry had also organised several engagements with the house buyers’ representatives to update them on the project status. The latest engagement and briefing was on February 25, and the recent Pre-Task Force meeting was on March 1 with the developer.
“The Task Force has also forwarded its recommendation to be considered by the house purchasers to the Sarawak State Attorney General Chambers for legal view and advice. As of now, the feedback from the Sarawak State Attorney General Chambers is quite positive. We will get the final decision on this from the respective house purchasers.
“Concerning the grievances of house buyers who have received their houses, the Tribunal for Housing Purchaser’s Claims Sarawak has heard and is also in the process of hearing the claims made by the house buyers.
“Tribunal for Housing Purchaser’s Claims Sarawak had given the necessary award to house buyers. The developer is in the process of complying with the award made by the Tribunal for Housing Purchaser’s Claims Sarawak,” said Tiang in a statement yesterday (April 30).
Borneo Samariang Resort City Project is a private housing development undertaken by Sentoria Borneo Land Sdn Bhd, which was issued with the Housing Development License under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Ordinance, 2013 in 2016.
This housing development is a mixed development project consisting of a few major components: the Water Theme Park, International Convention Centre, serviced apartments meant for tourists, and several blocks of normal housing and RSM.
RSM is planned to be developed on Block 4 and Block 5. Normal housing constructed in Block 24, Block 25 and Block 26 was successfully delivered to the respective house purchaser. — DayakDaily
