KUCHING, April 16: Taman Sentosa in Kuching which is said to be the biggest abandoned housing project in Sarawak’s history of property development has been successfully revived.
Court appointed liquidator Wong Ching Yong said the project was divided into two phases where Phase 1 comprised 131 units of properties including shophouses, semi-detached and terraces while Phase 2 involved 190 units properties including three blocks of apartments and six terraces.
“The rehabilitation will be considered successful only when all the land titles for Phase 1 are issued and transferred to the purchasers and when Occupational Permits (OP) are issued to the purchasers in Phase 2—meaning these purchasers can move in to live in the properties that they bought some 20 years ago (as early as 2003).
“The land titles of Phase 1 were transferred progressively to the purchasers in Phase 1 since 2018 and OP were issued to the purchasers in Phase 2 in March 2023. This means the abandoned project has been successfully revived,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The purchasers of Phase 2 also formed a Joint Management Board (JMB) yesterday which is chaired by Joshua Jabeng. The JMB is a requirement under the Strata Title Management Ordinance Sarawak.
The housing project located at 8½ Mile Penrissen Road has been abandoned by its developer Besthouse Development (M) Sdn Bhd since 2007.
On June 26, 2013, the Court appointed Wong as the liquidator of the company.
In 2017, the liquidator appointed Sunny East Holding Sdn Bhd as the white knight to revive the project.
On this note, Wong who is Sibu Rural District Office (SRDC) vice chairman and Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Dudong branch chairman, expressed his gratitude to Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg for waiving a condition in the Sarawak Planning Authority’s (SPA) approval which requested the company to build low-cost housing in Bintulu. The condition was impossible to satisfy as the land had been foreclosed on by a bank.
He also thanked Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian for rendering an enormous amount of assistance in the application for OP for the Phase 2 apartments and Sunny East Holdings Sdn Bhd executive director Roland Phang for his professional assistance in rebuilding the three apartment blocks in Phase 2. — DayakDaily
