Property Malaysia

Perhaps we will finally see the end to some of the issues regarding the approval of hillside projects in the Klang Valley. Currently in the news are some ‘hot’ for projects that have come under vocal protest from surrounding residents. Some of these were highlighted in the press recently:

Development projects approved by the DBKL, which disregard the rules in the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 and the Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982.

Case 1 - Federal Hill

2.1ha (6.2 acres) of land at Lot 55 Plot A, Section 70, Jalan Travers. This prime land belonging to the federal government has been categorised “institutional” use, which basically means that it is land for the police to build their quarters and offices and not for commercial use.

Despite the fact that the DBKL will be holding an objection hearing with residents on April 4, the residents are questioning the relevance of the hearing when construction on the site has already started. By right there should not be any form of construction before the objection hearing.

Case 2 - Bukit Gasing

15.4ha (38 acres) of privately owned land on the KL side of Bukit Gasing, which does not come under the green belt area.

The residents also said that the DBKL had not acted in accordance with the principle of Local Agenda 21, requiring partnership between the DBKL and the public.

The residents have since gone to court to compel the DBKL to hold an objection hearing.

Case 3 - Jalan Gallagher in Taman Duta

In 2005, the developers submitted an application to the DBKL to build 13 blocks of five-storey apartments with a total of 188 units at Jalan Gallagher.

The new development will increase the density in the area by 750% from 10 people per 0.4ha to 84 - that is in violation of the laws.

(source)

The above 3 are under DBKL’s jurisdiction, and another two high profile projects under MPAJ are in Bukit Antarabangsa, which have recently drawn comments from the new MB of Selangor:

State Executive Councillor Ronnie (Liu)… said the developers of both the projects were not allowed to carry on with development until further notice.

Liu said the state was wary of carrying out hillside development especially at Bukit Antarabangsa which was under constant threat of landslide.

(source)

It looks like it won’t be as easy for developers to get hillside projects approved anymore, which is a good thing considering the diminishing green lungs in city and in view of the landslides that has happened recently. Well, at least for the next 4 years…

The next time you see a small white signboard about the size of a white board, located at the edge of an empty piece of land, read it. If it is a ‘notis pemberitahuan’, then that would be a notice board required by any developer who wishes to developer any piece of land. The purpose of this little notice board is to notify the residents living around the proposed site of the following:

• The submission that has been put forth to the local authority;
• The file number of the submission, and brief details like number of units, type of development and number of storeys the buildings have;
• That residents have the right to put in the objection to the local authority if they wish to do so. There is usually a grace period for this, most council put it at 2 weeks;
• The name and address of the developer.

While the size of notice board is standard, a lot of people fail to notice it much less pay attention to it, which means the grace period for recording any objections, passes without fuss. Some local councils actually send the similar notice to neighbors by mail.

The thing to note that this notice board is NOT the same as the project signboard. The project signboard is erected after all approvals have been obtained and the developer starts work.

This whole thing is significant because usually when the planning, building plan and earthwork approval is given to the developer, and when their contractors start work, it is only then when the residents around the neighborhood start protesting. While the residents have every right and recourse to object, the local council usually will not stop the development because the approval has been given – unless it comes from a higher authority like the MB or a federal agency. But in most cases, the council would have deemed that they have studied the development from all aspects during the building plan stage, including getting approval from 14 different technical departments like JKR, JPS, IKRAM and JMG.

We’re not saying that residents can’t object at any one time to protect their rights. The point is this – object BEFORE the project is approved. You have higher chance of succeeding.

What happens if you object? Well, we will cover that in the next article… when we get round to writing it.

So what will the budget bring for homebuyers and investors next year?

Good news or bad news?

With each passing year, property and it’s close cousin, construction, play a bigger and chunkier role in the nation’s economy, Malaysians eagerly wait for the budget announcement. Realistically, we hope there will be good news in the forms of more tax breaks and incentives for buying and selling medium cost homes. While luxury homes is where the big money is for developers, most Malaysian do not participate in buying homes in the excess of RM1million, so we hope that there will be goodies for more people to share.

Construction is badly hit with rising prices of materials (like steel) and strangely enough, material shortage (like the recent puzzling cement shortage). Construction costs directly affect home prices, so we hope that there will be some positive changes in that aspect.

So we wait for the announcement.

Not an April’s Fool joke. Check it out here.

Malaysia to scrap property gains tax from April 1

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will scrap capital gains tax on property deals from April 1, the prime minister said Thursday as he announced a slew of pro-investment programmes and incentives in a bid to boost the economy.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he hoped the decision would “inject more excitement and dynamism in both the property and financial sectors.'’

“Potential that has gone unrealized or under-optimized will be turned into new industries and businesses, new value creation and new jobs,'’ he said in a speech at a conference of local and foreign fund managers, and heads of some of Malaysia’s biggest companies.

The Malaysian property market is currently believed to be stagnating, and considered undervalued compared to other countries in the region, especially Singapore.

Abolishing the property gains tax would encourage investment and deals and bring more liquidity into the market.

“Going forward to further improve the national property sector, the government has decided not to impose real property gains tax throughout the country commencing 1st April, 2007,'’ Abdullah said.

All those uncles and datuks with dozens of property investments should be rejoicing, then?

Did anyone read this in today’s The Star Metro?

ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS GO DOWN HARD ON PROTESTERS

ABOUT 12 enforcement officers from the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) burst into Taman Hijau Apartments in Ukay Heights recently and started tearing down banners and placards put up by the residents in protest against an development project in the neighbourhood.

An eyewitness to the incident who refused to be identified said the officers were dressed in their official uniforms and came storming into the apartment area at about 11am without proper documentation, shouting and behaving like hooligans.

“They did not gain permission but merely stormed in and refused to identify themselves,'’ she said.

“It was shocking to see officers from the local authority behaving like that,'’ she said.

Expatriate H. Berbar said the officers were rude and when he started taking pictures of the raid, they covered their nametags on the uniforms.

“The whole incident happened so fast that I sprained my ankle during the commotion,'’ he said.

“When we questioned one of the officers, he said we did not have a permit for the banners.

“My question is why did they not take down all the other signages in Ukay Heights, which obviously did not have permits as well?

“Where was their permit to enter private property and remove items?'’ asked Berbar.

Datuk Mustapha Mahmud, who is a resident of Taman Hijau, said he was alarmed when he saw the way the officers were behaving.

“Technically, they do not have the right to come into the property as it is private owned yet they did so and when I questioned them about it, they ran away,'’ he said.

Read the full article here.

As bad as the PR of some of the local councils with public, this has got to make it worse. That area has a lot of foreign expats staying there, how do you think it will make Malaysia look? Bad. Especially with the government trying to promote Malaysia My Second Home and Visit Malaysia Year.

This should be good news to most people (although it’s a bit late up here). Something to read while the Internet speed grinds slowly.

Rules on foreign property buy eased

Related story: Developers are jumping for joy, naturally…

With the recent furore about illegally built palaces and business premises on state land, one aspect we should take a good look at is getting the proper approvals for the renovation works done to your homes.

By and large, a lot of people carry out renovations to their landed units without any approvals from the local council. If you want to know, you can ask your neighbours who did renovate their houses - it’ll give you a good picture of just how many. Sometimes, the house owner entrusts the renovation contractor to get the paperwork done - more often than not, he doesn’t do it.

These days, local council enforcement is getting stricter. Gone are the days that “it’s OK if no one complains about it”, nowadays, the council can immediately instruct you to tear down any illegal structures if it infringes on the regulations.

The Star highlighted some interviews with councillors regarding this issue, and they also issued some guidelines for people thinking of doing some works to their houses (source here):

BEFORE SUBMITTING PLANS

• Obtain a letter of consent from the neighbours if extension or renovation works involve house borders or the front facade.
• Appoint a registered architect (or one from the council).
• Appoint a consultant engineer if extension/renovation works involve concrete works.
• Consult the Building Control Department (of MBPJ) if extension/renovation works involved is 50% or more of the built-up area of the premises.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Four copies of the proposed extension and renovation work plan
• A copy of the structure plan
• A copy of the latest assessment receipt
• A copy of certificate of fitness
• A copy of the sales and purchase agreement

Some councils have differing requirements, so the best is to check with them before starting any work. Remember, not everyone of us can afford to pay the fine of RM24,000 for not having an approval…

Let me sidetrack a little bit from the staple of Property Malaysia awhile. I read in the papers they are will be increasing the water tariff soon. The Star reported the following on Oct 16

Water, Energy and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik said that water tariffs would go up by 15% for Klang Valley consumers who use more than 35 cubic metres per month.
For consumers who use more than 20 cubic metres a month but less than 35, the tariff increase is 6%.
Syabas chief operation officer Datuk Lee Miang Koi said they had been working hard to improve the water quality for consumers, including setting up the 24-hour toll free Puspel hotline.
“We have always tried to improve the water quality since we took over from PUAS on Jan 1, 2005.

While the increase of the water tariff did not elicit response from the general public like when they increased the electricity tariff, toll price and petrol, many quarters did voice their discontent, especially on the timing of the announcement.

Firstly, it is important to note that Syabas has made it clear that the increase is targeted mainly for users with high consumption, as shown in the breakdown of the increase in the report above. However, for lower consumption, there is still an increase. The main gripe of the consumers is that the quality of water supply in most parts of the Klang Valley has come to a level that is no longer acceptable.

These days it’s all too common to hear of complaints that the water that comes out of our taps is brown. This isn’t limited to certain areas of the Valley only, it affects almost everywhere – Cheras, Kepong, Petaling Jaya, Puchong – just ask any one on the street or read the letters that appear in the newspapers. Some residents complain that the water smells like sewage, contain rust, mud, metal bits, and what not.

It’s a common sight to see water filters installed in almost every home. A quick survey around my neighbourhood confirmed 9 out of every ten home had one of those external units – this isn’t counting the internal units. Dealers of water filtration and purification systems are making big bucks these days – the number of different systems available in the market can attest to it, be it energy water, diamond water, ionized water or whatever they call it.

This only goes to show the level of water quality our system provides, or the public perception of it has become.

What is the problem, SYABAS? It’s poor publicity NOT to address the public complaints that is becoming more and more vocal these past few years. And now the tariff has been increased. Where is the justification?

Welcome, Encik Mohd Roslan Sakiman, to the office of the mayor of Petaling Jaya. Not only is Petaling Jaya the newest city in Malaysia, but by our reckoning, it stands with potential to become the second riches city hall in the country after it’s elder sister, Kuala Lumpur.

His work is definitely cut out for him, with a host of problems and challenges awaiting him on his desk. Primarily, we expect the new boss to look around his city and get to know his city folks, their problems and suggestions. He will have a lots of opportunities to do so with the stretch of festivities coming up soon, like Deepavali and Hari Raya.

Next on the agenda is to address the long running high profile issues that have dominated PJ’s image lately, like the rubbish collection, the billboard saga, rising snatch theft and crime cases, public amenities maintenance (like roads, toilets and drains, are some of the most visible ones).

And finally, we sincerely hope the Datuk Bandar can work effectively with the team of councillors on the full board. This is the highest body or decision makers in the city, and its efficiency ultimately makes or breaks the success and implementation of the council’s policies and strategies.

Once again, welcome, Datuk Bandar, and we wish you all the best to make PJ a beautiful city.

Relevant Articles and Editorials in Property Malaysia:
City Status for Petaling Jaya: Not All A Bed of Roses…
Local Councils in Selangor (Kerajaan Tempatan)
Increase in Petaling Jaya Assessment Rates

The government has decided to let the people be the ‘eyes and the ears’ of the authorities in reporting contractors that abandon projects or hand over shoddy work. According to a report in leading papers today:

Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said this would be part of a code of ethics and a performance-appraisal system for contractors likely to be implemented next year.

He said it was aimed at preventing abuse of government projects.

The public could contact the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) if they felt things were amiss with any government construction project.

The code, drawn up by contractor associations and government departments, requires contractors to finish their job on time and according to specifications.

Contractors will also have to sit for integrity courses.

This plan covers public projects only by the government, the more pressing issue for us is, is the government planning to enact anything to cover private home buyers in the future? There are plenty of these abandoned projects and poorly constructed homes around for everyone to see, maybe this is something to look into urgently.

Anyway, in an accompanying article, the article listed down the problematic projects under the 8th Malaysia Plan.

More than 2,000 projects abandoned under 8th Plan

A TOTAL of 2,326 abandoned projects under the Eighth Malaysia Plan has been brought forward to the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

• The RM165 million Kuching Prison remains unfinished after almost 10 years. Designed to ease congestion at the present 113-year- old Kuching Prison, the contract was awarded to WMM Holdings Sdn Bhd in 1997. It was to have been built by 2000. When the firm failed to meet the deadline, it was granted an extension till May 2001. When this passed, its services were terminated in July 2002. The Public Works Department, which took over, awarded the project to TSR Bina Sdn Bhd in September 2004. Work resumed in January last year. The company is to complete it by end of the year for RM54.7 million, but it appears that it may only be ready next year.

• After five extensions, the RM565 million Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah in Alor Star is almost ready and it is expected to be handed over to the Health Ministry after five postponements starting in 2002.

• The new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex in Johor is delayed by another five months.
Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the RM1.3 billion project, slated for completion next month, will be ready in February.

• The problem-riddled Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) reopened to light traffic this month after cracks were spotted along the pillars in 2004. The cost of repairs is expected to exceed RM40 million. The MRR2 was closed the first time for three months from Aug 8, 2004, and reopened last November.

The decision to close the stretch for a second time came after a study by independent consultant Halcrow Group Limited of Britain found cracks along 31 of the 33 pillars.

• Construction of the Matrade building, which began in 1997, was only completed recently. The project’s original cost of RM167 million ballooned to RM287.5 million, with RM64.8 million spent on fixing shoddy work.