By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Sept 4: The Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (SHEDA) wants the Sarawak government to establish a one-stop climate portal to provide official evidence when adverse weather disrupts housing projects.
SHEDA president Dato Augustine CH Wong said the proposed portal would provide standardised reports on localised adverse weather conditions, which could then be used by developers to substantiate requests for extensions of time (EOT) for delayed projects.
“We have spoken of derailed project timelines due to the weather.
“Often when it happens, developers have no official communication or report from relevant authorities to justify an extension of time,” he said when presenting SHEDA’s three wishes at the opening of the SHEDA Property Expo 2026 at voco Kuching by IHG here today.
Wong further said SHEDA wanted the government to consider setting up a one-stop climate portal where standardised reports of localised adverse weather conditions could be obtained.
“We would like the Sarawak government to consider setting up a one-stop climate portal where standardised reports of localised adverse weather conditions can be obtained and for such reports to be recognised and accepted by the Tribunal and other deciding bodies,” he added.
The proposal comes amid what Wong described as increasingly extreme weather conditions affecting the construction industry.
He cited repeated haze episodes in Sarawak, the Bintulu floods during the Chinese New Year period in 2025, and a freak storm that struck Kuching shortly before this year’s Merdeka weekend.
“In order to mitigate flooding for example, developers are required to earth fill until the platform is high enough to satisfy flood projections.
“They are also required to build deeper detention ponds to accommodate the volume, the capacity of which has increased up to 62 per cent more in recent years.
“These are just two examples of how costs are driven up because we are facing climate change,” he said.
At the same time, Wong said developers were required to complete housing projects within 24 months for landed properties and 36 months for strata developments, regardless of project size or weather conditions.
When projects were hit by natural disasters, prolonged bad weather or other unforeseen disruptions, he said delays could become inevitable.
“Prolonged bad weather impacts scheduling and compounds cost. In some circumstances, inclement weather also damages building materials and creates significantly more unsafe site conditions,” he said.
Wong said developers could nevertheless face public criticism when projects failed to meet the prescribed completion periods, including being targeted on social media.
He said an official climate portal could provide a more objective basis for determining whether adverse weather had genuinely affected a project’s timeline.
Wong said developers could subsequently face public criticism if they failed to meet the prescribed completion period, including being targeted on social media.
The climate portal is one of three wishes put forward by SHEDA.
The association is also seeking amendments to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Ordinance 2013 and Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 2014, as well as an expansion of financial assistance under the Housing Deposit and Repayment Assistance Scheme (HDRAS) to eligible buyers purchasing suitable homes from the open market.
The Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Ordinance 2013 and Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 2014 regulate various aspects of housing development, including project schedules, progress payments and the handover of vacant possession.
“The heavy burden of meeting construction, compliance and climate demands is slowly suffocating the ability of developers to contribute to the advancement of the property development industry.
“We really seek Deputy Premier and Public Health, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian’s reassurance that the SHEDA’s proposed amendments to the HDO 2013 and HDR 2014 will finally be tabled before the Sarawak Legislative Assembly is dissolved,” he said.
On HDRAS, Wong urged the government to expand the scheme to allow eligible purchasers to use financial assistance to buy suitable homes on the open market.
He said giving buyers greater freedom over where they live could help Sarawak move towards its target of raising homeownership to 75 per cent. — DayakDaily
