SURAT SULTAN SELANGOR

Berikut adalah merupakan surat daripada setiausaha sulit D.Y.M.M Sultan Selangor kepada Dato' Bandar Petaling Jaya meminta diperjelaskan situasi mengenai perkembangan permasalahan Kondominium Paramount View.

OUR FUTURE PLANS HALTED

"My wife and I got married last year March 2008, and we purchased the unit just one month before our wedding. We had been searching high and low for 3 months for a suitable home to start our married life together. And we chanced upon Paramount View booth in Carrefour Subang and immediately made a booking for the unit during the CNY 2008 holidays. And confirmed our booking and went through a stressful time with the loans as they were all "encouraging" and hounding us to take their loans.

We were promised that it would be ready by December 2008, and many other things; such as card access at the carpark, to the lobby to each unit. Based on this decision we agreed that we would tough it out in a rented room for the first year.. now it's nearly 2 years.

So, once we confirmed on one bank, we let the matter rest and then went on our merry way to purchase our unit. It was a leap of faith that we took in purchasing this unit, because we didn't know how we were really going to make the payments. However, thanks be to God that he has allowed us to earn sufficiently to pay for the condo in the past 1.5 years.

We have been steadily paying the full installments because we believe that it is not good to just serve the interest and allow the principal to remain. We maintained the rental of a room and have been sharing the house with housemates for the past nearly 1.5 years. Like any newly married we would like to have our own privacy, but we are left stranded with no condo in sight.

So you can just imagine how much a couple with average pay is paying for Rental of a room and Full payment for a condo is doing right now. We thank God our lives are simple enough for us to manage this.

My parents have been expecting to spend Christmas 2009 with us in Kuala Lumpur. And with the hold of this unit and no sign of progress in sight, we are left wondering what are we going to do with the Stove unit, water heaters & fans we have purchased for the house. They are cluttering up our own room. We have put so much effort into saving and invested so much, but what do we have in hand?

This is not the first experience we've had, whereby my wife made a purchase of an apartment in Subang Jaya a number of years ago, but that project was halted. And with no sign of completion in sight. How can the authorities allow such things go unnoticed.

Each day my wife and I pass by our PVC and pray that the completion will be done in due time. We can only have faith and hope, for we need a home to have our child that we are planning for in the very near future. We pray that all our neighbours who have rallied together will also pray that we will be given what is due to us in the right timing. Pray with us.

"May God who is just and merciful do as He pleases with those whom He has put in places of authority and responsibility, for vengence is not mine."

Purchaser Of Unit 3A-10

KNOW YOUR LOCAL COUNCILORS

By TAN KARR WEI, JADE CHAN AND OH ING YEEN

The Star - Wednesday July 2, 2008 , SELANGOR state assemblymen will now sit in as observers at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) full board and committee meetings.

Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San said this would encourage greater transparency because council committee meetings used to be closed-door meetings.

“Compared with the previous government, assemblymen were not appointed as councillors this time around but we will still monitor what's happening at the councils,” said Lau.

After a long wait and amid much speculation, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillors were finally sworn in yesterday at a ceremony at the MBPJ headquarters at Jalan Yong Shook Lin.

Despite demands by representatives of PJ residents to be included as councillors, the announced list remained the same with 17 political appointees (seven from PKR, six from DAP and four from PAS) and seven NGO representatives.

Women power: (From left) Cynthia Manonmani Michael Gabriel, Latheefa Beebi Koya, Professor Madya Dr Melasutra Md Dall and Tiew Way Keng are the four female councillors sworn in at MBPJ yesterday.

All the councillors were sworn in except for Michael Soon, who was away attending to work matters.

Also present at the ceremony were PJ Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian, Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo Burne, Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Mohamed Talha, Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong and Kota Damansara assemblyman Dr Nasir Hashim.

In his speech, Petaling Jaya mayor Mohamad Roslan Sakiman reminded the councillors about their duties and responsibilities in serving the people and city of PJ, and for all to work together as a team.

“The 'no wrong door policy' needs to be practised in this council,” he said, adding that the combination of professionals, politicians and NGO representatives would make the new councillor line-up a dynamic combination that would generate good ideas for the development of PJ.

Roslan said the council would decide on the 24 areas that each councillor would be in charge of and they would be required to open up a service centre at their respective areas. They would receive an annual allocation of RM100,000 each to run their service centres and the amount for this year would be pro-rated.

Councillor Ghazali Shaari (PAS) said his main concern was in areas with a high concentration of low-income earners.

“There is a big disparity between the rich and the poor and if this issue is not looked into, it would lead to social problems and is bad for society,” said Ghazali.

Urban planner Dr Melasutra Md Dali said: “ I wish that we can do better in terms of planning and nurturing the environment to make it more liveable.

Meanwhile, Kamarudin Suhaimi (PAS) hopes to see PJ become more civilised and better developed to attract tourists.

“I would like to have the various small hubs and towns in PJ to be identified and given their own unique identities, so people know which part of PJ to go to when they want something.”

Anthony Thanasayan said one of the first things he would do is to request that he be allowed to bring his dog to help him move about within MBPJ’s premise.

“I have submitted my letter of request to the mayor,’’ said Anthony who is a columnist for The Star.

LETTER TO THE MAYOR

Below is an open letter from one of many frustrated purchaser of the Paramount View Condominium addressed to the Mayor of Petaling Jaya pertaining to the access road leading to the condominium that was blocked by the MBPJ ( Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya ). We hope that more purchasers will come forward and put continuous pressure on MBPJ to settel this issue once and for all.

ADIL DAN BERAMANAH DALAM TADBIR URUS

Oleh Rohana Mustaffa

KUALA LUMPUR, 12 Jan (Bernama) -- Pada 2005 Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (Ikim) menganjurkan seminar bertemakan "Kerajaan Adil dan Beramanah" bertujuan membincangkan beberapa prinsip pendekatan politik sebuah kerajaan yang adil dan beramanah dan mengemukakan resolusi seminar itu kepada kerajaan.

Bulan lepas Ikim mengadakan satu lagi muzakarah hampir serupa bertajuk "Adil dan Beramanah Dalam Tadbir Urus" yang disertai 150 wakil daripada universiti, kerajaan, pertubuhan bukan kerajaan, parti politik dan majlis agama.

Muzakarah itu antara lain berhasrat merumus dan mengenal pasti penunjuk-penunjuk bagi sebuah kerajaan adil dan beramanah dari segi Islam dan amalan universal.

Sebanyak 15 kertas kerja dibentangkan antaranya oleh Ketua Pengarah Ikim Datuk Dr Syed Ali Tawfik Al Attas, Timbalan Pengarah Kanan Bahagian Perancangan, Penyelidikan dan Korporat, Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam, Mohamed Musaddik Abdul Majid, Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz dan Ketua Editor (Akademik) Penerbitan MPH Dr Mesut Idriz.

Artikel ini memetik pelbagai perkara berkaitan daripada beberapa kertas kerja yang dibentangkan pada muzakarah itu.

KEADILAN SOSIAL

Wan Mohamad dalam kertas kerjanya menarik perhatian kepada keadilan sosial sebagai antara komponen penting bagi menjayakan sebuah kerajaan yang adil dan beramanah dalam tadbir urusnya.

Beliau memberi definisi keadilan sosial sebagai peletakan sesuatu pada tempatnya yang betul yang mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan kesamarataan di mana hak dan tanggungjawab, faedah dan bebanan, diagihkan sama rata dalam kalangan komuniti.

Beliau memetik beberapa pandangan sarjana Islam mengenai konsep keadilan sosial ini termasuk Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zuhrah yang merumuskan bahawa keadilan sosial bukanlah bertujuan untuk menghapuskan golongan fakir tetapi ia merupakan wadah bagi mengurangkan bebanannya.

Ini disebabkan, katanya, kefakiran perlu dirawat agar tidak timbul masalah sosial seperti kecurian dan rompakan, maka keadilan sosial menjadi asas dalam merawat ketidaksamarataan sosio-ekonomi.

Wan Mohamad turut merujuk kepada petikan ayat Al-Quran yang bermaksud "Sesungguhnya Allah menyuruh kamu supaya menyerahkan segala jenis amanah kepada ahlinya (yang berhak menerimanya) dan apabila kamu menjalankan hukum di antara manusia, (Allah menyuruh) kamu menghukum dengan adil".

PERSAMAAN HAK MANUSIA

Kertas kerja ini membincangkan persamaan hak sesama manusia menurut kaca mata Islam merangkumi:

a) Hak untuk hidup -- tiada seorang pun yang diizinkan oleh syarak untuk membunuh seseorang lain melainkan atas alasan syariat, contohnya kuasa hakim di mahkamah, yang menjatuhkan hukuman bunuh balas (qisas) kepada pembunuh dan sebagainya.

b) Hak untuk beragama -- Islam memberikan kebebasan kepada seluruh manusia untuk memilih agama sebagai panduan serta pegangan hidup masing-masing. Islam tidak pernah memaksa mahu pun memeras ugut manusia dalam menentukan haluan agama mereka.

Dan sebagai indikator kepada pelaksanaan kebebasan ini, Malaysia, yang Islam ialah agama persekutuan, memberikan kebebasan untuk mempraktik aktiviti keagamaan ini kepada semua warganya dan sewajarnya kebebasan yang diamanahkan ini tidak dicabuli oleh semua pihak supaya tidak menimbulkan sebarang kekecohan dan kegelisahan.

c) Hak untuk mendapatkan pendidikan -- setiap individu berpeluang dan diberikan keizinan oleh syariat untuk menggali khazanah ilmu dan seterusnya memiliki kelayakan akademik untuk meningkatkan potensi diri.

Dalam hal ini kertas kerja ini menegaskan bahawa Malaysia menjadi model rujukan negara Islam khususnya dalam memerangi buta huruf dalam kalangan warganya melalui dasar dan strategi seperti Dasar Pendidikan Kebangsaan, Misi Nasional dan Pelan Induk Pembangunan Pendidikan (PIPP) 2006-2010.

d) Kebebasan mencari harta dan rezeki -- kebebasan yang diberikan bagaimanapun harus berpandu kepada prinsip kemanusiaan dan bukan melalui jalan yang salah seperti menindas, menipu, khianat, rasuah dan sebagainya.

Islam mengiktiraf peranan golongan lelaki dan wanita dalam memakmurkan alam termasuk dalam hal mencari rezeki untuk menyara hidup dan keluarga.

Wan Mohamad turut memberikan statistik yang dikeluarkan Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat berkaitan penglibatan ahli profesional bagi tahun 2007 yang menunjukkan penglibatan seimbang gender dalam bidang-bidang tertentu.

Ketua Pengarah Jakim itu berkata politik, kewangan dan perundangan merupakan tiga mekanisme penting dalam memastikan jaminan sosial ini.

ADIL SEORANG MANUSIA

Sebuah kerajaan yang baik, katanya, memerlukan penglibatan aktif masyarakat dalam penggubalan dasar -- masyarakat meluahkan kehendak dan keperluannya melalui saluran yang betul, manakala kerajaan yang baik akan menerima, menganalisis dan menggubal satu dasar yang sesuai dengan keperluan masyarakat -- mengikut kapasiti tenaga dan sumber yang ada.

Sementara itu, Dr Syed Ali dalam kertas kerjanya berkata bagi seorang manusia itu untuk hidup mengikut fitrahnya, atau bagi seseorang itu mewujudkan keharmonian dalam keluarganya dan untuk berkhidmat kepada masyarakat, dia perlu adil.

Sebagai contoh, bila seseorang itu adil pada dirinya, beliau akan mengendalikan urusan dirinya dengan bijaksana, serupa juga jika hubungan dalam keluarganya berlandaskan keadilan, maka akan wujud kedamaian dan kebahagiaan.

Sama juga bila sebuah masyarakat ditadbir secara adil dari segi politik, ia akan menyerlahkan kesempurnaannya dan akan berpuashati.

Beliau berkata seorang manusia yang baik, bila dia bercakap, dia berkata yang benar, bila dia diberikan kepercayaan, dia tidak mengkhianati amanah itu, bila dia berjanji, dia akan menunaikannya.

Menurut Ketua Pengarah Ikim itu, perbandingan yang dibuat mengenai seorang manusia yang baik dan hubungannya sebagai individu, keluarga dan masyarakat ini boleh diselarikan dengan ciri-ciri sebuah tadbir urus dan masyarakat yang baik.

PENUNJUK UTAMA ADIL DAN BERAMANAH

Dr Syed Ali berkata satu daripada penunjuk utama bagi adil dan beramanah ini ialah ilmu, dan penggunaan ilmu itu dizahirkan melalui tindakan.

Tindakan seseorang itu dalam membuat keputusan dan melaksanakannya haruslah berasaskan kepada ilmu yang dia ada, kerana tindakan yang berasaskan salah faham, salah fakta, salah menempatkan dirinya dan kejahilan akan mengakibatkan ketidakadilan, katanya.

Beliau mengaitkan amanah dengan memberi contoh anggota polis yang diberi kepercayaan dan tanggungjawab memelihara keamanan dan kestabilan melalui cara memastikan peraturan dan undang-undang dipatuhi, tetapi jika dia sendiri melanggarnya, maka berlaku perbuatan tidak amanah dan tidak berlaku adil.

Perkara ini dikaitkan pula oleh Dr Mesut Idriz dalam kertas kerjanya yang menekankan bahawa, prinsip pertama tadbir urus yang baik sesebuah pertubuhan atau negara dalam syariah, ialah pemilihan individu yang sesuai untuk sesuatu pekerjaan itu.

Dalam erti kata lain merit merupakan satu-satunya kriteria dalam pemilihan tenaga manusia di dalam sesebuah organisasi atau negara. Bangsa, warna kulit atau kepercayaan tidak harus dibiarkan mempengaruhi keputusan.

Beliau menarik perhatian bahawa Nabi Muhammad s.a.w turut mengambil orang bukan Islam dalam perkhidmatan diplomatiknya berasaskan kepada kecekapan mereka.

SEJARAH EMPAYAR UTHMANIYYAH

Dr Mesut memberikan satu contoh.

Pembebasan Balkan oleh kerajaan atau empayar (Turki) Uthmaniyyah dalam kurun ke-14. Agama Islam sampai ke Balkan lebih awal daripada itu tetapi Balkan tidak ditadbir oleh orang Islam sehinggalah era ini.

Untuk memerintah komuniti pelbagai kaum dan agama di Balkan, Sultan-sultan Uthmaniyyah ketika itu dinasihatkan oleh pihak berkuasa agama peringkat tertinggi Shaykh al-Islamas serta sekumpulan kecil ulama mengenai aspek tabdir urus yang baik bagi wilayah-wilayah itu dan rakyatnya.

Dengan kelayakan tinggi mereka dalam memahami falsafah syariah (atau hikmahnya) dan dalam disiplin yang lain, para cendekiawan Islam ini menyediakan pelbagai buku kepada pemerintah sebagai panduan dan bimbingan untuk memastikan amalan tadbir urus yang baik diperturunkan kepada pelbagai peringkat bawahannya.

Dengan kaedah tadbir urus yang baik itu, pemimpin Uthmaniyyah berjaya mengamalkannya bukan sahaja di Balkan tetapi juga di seluruh kawasan empayar itu selama berkurun lamanya.

Pelbagai hasil kerja dan bahan arkib Uthmaniyyah, menjadi bukti kepada semua ini di mana penduduk negara Balkan yang terdiri daripada lebih 15 komuniti etnik dan kumpulan agama berbeza, menikmati kesan tadbir urus yang baik pemerintah Uthmaniyyah sekurang-kurangnya selama tiga kurun (kurun ke-14 hingga 16) dalam keadaan aman, stabil, bebas beragama dan ekonomi yang makmur.

TADBIR URUS TERBAIK

Mohamed Musaddik pula dalam kertas kerjanya merujuk kepada Persidangan Tadbir Urus Dunia 1999 yang mendefinisikan tadbir urus yang baik sebagai satu sistem pentadbiran yang telus, bertanggung jawab, adil, demokratik dan responsif kepada kehendak rakyat.

Dan tadbir urus yang berkesan pula ialah apabila penggunaan kuasa dalam semua peringkat pengurusan dilakukan dengan cekap, adil, jujur, telus, saksama, demokrasi dan bertindak balas terhadap keperluan dan kesejahteraan masyarakat khususnya dalam pemberian perkhidmatan kerajaan.

Tadbir urus perkhidmatan awam yang terbaik pula, bagi beliau, ialah melalui prestasi yang cekap dan berkesan seperti yang diharapkan pemegang kepentingan dan pematuhan terhadap undang-undang dan peraturan.

Mohamed Musaddik menarik perhatian di Malaysia yang perkhidmatan awamnya melalui beberapa fasa pembaharuan ke arah melaksanakan tadbir urus yang baik:

Pada 1980an -- melalui budaya kerja cemerlang, automasi pejabat, persyarikatan Malaysia, konsep bersih, cekap dan amanah.

Pada 1990an - pengurusan kualiti menyeluruh (Total Quality Management), kualiti (Q) layanan telefon dan perkhidmatan kaunter, piagam pelanggan, kumpulan mutu kerja, aduan pelanggan, MS ISO 9000-1994 dan anugerah inovasi.

Pada 2000 dan seterusnya - e-kerajaan, pelan strategik ICT, pelan integriti nasional, kaunter khidmat pelanggan, penunjuk prestasi utama (KPI) dan peningkatan penyampaian perkhidmatan.

Mohamed Musaddik menyimpulkan di sini senarai ciri-ciri tadbir urus yang terbaik untuk diamal dan dilaksanakan:

• menggalakkan pembaharuan dalam pengurusan
• menerajui matlamat strategik agensi
• mengurus pemegang kepentingan
• mewujudkan strategik KPI setiap tahun untuk mengukur dan mengesahkan pencapaian prestasi agensi
• mengurus modal insan untuk mencapai matlamat strategik agensi secara berkesan
• mengurus sumber kewangan sejajar dengan matlamat strategik agensi, melaksanakan sistem kawalan dalaman, melaksanakan pengurusan risiko
• memantapkan nilai dan etika organisasi, dan
• menangani fraud serta rasuah

-- BERNAMA

WHAT HAPPEN TO MY HOME?

I was very happy at the thought of moving into my new condo. Finally a place I could call my own. The location seemed perfect and my dream of finally owning a place came true.

I currently rent a room in my friend’s flat. And she has since decided to up the rent next year. I am paying an interest of close to 700MYR a month, and top that with my rent of 450MYR a month, I am losing a massive amount of cash. And this cash can be used to facilitate my housing loan, had I been able to move in earlier. I have not been able to afford to purchase a car thanks to the fact that I have had to save money for moving in costs later and also having to facilitate a loan towards a white elephant.

I even bought furniture that is still in warehouse storage in the furniture shops. I do not know how long these furniture shops will hold my new furniture (which is not so new now thanks to the delay) and I think that these shops are planning on charging me space rental for these furniture.

I was calling the developer every month to find out the moving dates. They kept promising me that I will be able to move in latest by April, and then latest by June and suddenly, the moving dates are not confirmed.

The reality of the situation hit me when I realized that the MBPJ councils were not interested in seeing both sides of the story. They are only interested in helping the residents in the surrounding area of the condo. It took the residents 2 years to finally open their mouths and protest. It never occurred to them to open their mouths when the condo was being built. Everything was silent until it was time for the purchasers of the condo to move in. Very sneaky indeed.

To date, I have lost a total of almost 10K in just interest payments alone. I do not know how much more cash I can lose out on this so called investment. It is becoming too costly. It is not like I am being paid a bucket load of cash every month.

I wanted my parents to be able to come to my condo at any time, to be able to see how well I have done for myself. I know it may all seem so trivial to some people, and maybe my story is not half as sad as some of the other buyers. But here is the bottom-line, money is money and pain is pain. I am sick and tired of losing my money. It does not come for free. I have to work hard for my cash, the same as everyone else.

Now the condo stands there as a white elephant. Malaysia can now proudly proclaim that it has added another white elephant to its list of endless abandoned buildings.

The councils can rest assured that the 233 buyers of the PV condos are not going to be silent until we get a fair deal. They are going to get constantly harassed by us until they resolve the matter as soon as possible. It will only add towards their sanity if they actually move this matter along and resolve it quickly.

Frustrated Tax Payer.

ACCESS ROAD DECISION ON HOLD

How come a simple matter of an acccess road which are not more then 20 meter in lenght took a very long time for a judge to decide ? Is this the so call efficiency of the Malaysian Justice System that have been loudly applaused by the government? Where is the KPI?

WHY AM I VICTIMIZED?

Early 2008, I moved in to a corner lot in section 11 Kota Damansara. We were very happy as the house was spacious, near a primary school and easy access to shops, IKEA, TESCO etc. I told my husband, no more moving…we have found an ideal home. This didn’t last very long as within 3 weeks of moving in, we were robbed. A group of 4 Indonesians came in through the sliding. They took all my jewelry, handphones and laptops.

Imagine, I woke up and saw a strange face breathing near my neck. I screamed and that woke my husband. We struggled with them and till today, I have the scars. From then on, life was not the same anymore. My husband gets up in the middle of the night at the slightest noise. We install alarm, put extra padlocks etc.

My husband then decided that it would perhaps be much better if we purchase a condo. We scout around for several weeks, looking at advertisements etc. One day, on the way to mum’s house we saw the signboard “Paramount View Condominium’. My husband immediately went to the sales office….

There the saga begins. There were only a few lots left. I wanted a unit with at least 3 rooms and later was informed there’s a unit with 4 bedrooms. We agreed to purchase it. The next task was to look for financing….We managed to secure one and put in alsoRM50,000 of our hard earned money . We have been paying ‘interest’ on the loan ever since.

Since we were assured that we will be able to move in by July 2009, we put up our house for sale. After several months on the market, someone finally made an offer that we could not refuse. Come January 2010, we have to hand over the house to the buyer.

I just cannot imagine what I will do then….I will be going for my Hajj in two weeks time and will be back on the 27 December…and have a few days left to pack my things and look for alternative accommodation. I am going around looking for a place to rent but again I face a dilemma. How long do I rent?

On top of that I have to go for my attachment in London. How can I do that if the condo is still hanging around my neck. Hence, we decided that my husband and children to go there first. I will be separated from my family as we have made plans for my tenant over there to move out.

I will also have to incur extra cost to come back from time to time to check on the status of the condo and the banks.

I keep asking myself, how did I get into this mess? Was I wrong in purchasing the unit? I believe, no, as the developer seems to be reliable and reputable as I checked them out before purchasing the unit. So what went wrong? I studied Civil Engineering during my certificate level and worked as a building technician before. I begin to wonder what are the criteria for a developer to obtain CF. Isn’t it about the building itself?

I want to go for Hajj in peace and to concentrate only on the ibadah…however I don’t think I would be able with all things still unsettled.

Unit 15-19

233 CONDO PURCHASERS AT WIT'S END

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12th SEPTEMBER 2009

PETALING JAYA, Saturday: A group of 45 disgruntled owners of Paramount View Condominium, representing 233 purchasers who have been deprived of moving into their fully completed units, attended an hour-long meeting yesterday evening to express their grouses and pleas to Y.B. Tony Pua (MP of Petaling Jaya Utara) and Y.B. Lau Weng San (ADUN Kg. Tunku) at their service centre.

It has been three months since the completion of Paramount View Condominium in Seksyen 22, Taman Aman, but purchasers have not been able to occupy their respective units due to a dispute involving a handful of neighbouring residents who protested to the construction of the condominium’s access road along Jalan SS1/25 and Jalan 22/44.

Consequently, the developer of the project, Sri Aman Development Sdn. Bhd., was instructed by MBPJ to build a new access road adjoining Jalan SS1/26, which involved running parallel to electricity pylons on TNB reserve land.

According to the property development division general manager of Sri Aman Development, Mr. Ang Wan Hai, the new SS1/26 access road was approved in the MBPJ council meeting and the layout plans were endorsed. However, while the new access road was being built, a stop-work order was issued by TNB.

“Since we have been denied access to SS1/26, MBPJ should allow us to revert to the original plan that the council had approved in 2007, which involves building the access road on Jalan SS1/25”, added Ang.


In view of the current quandary, the 233 Paramount View Condo purchasers are helplessly crying foul as they now own a parcel in the air with no way in or out of their unit. This is the first and only investment property for a majority of the purchasers – many of whom have started servicing their bank loans. Some purchasers who are paying additional rent for their current accommodation are barely making end’s meet, while they anxiously wait for this issue to be resolved.

“If MBPJ had not denied us the access road that they themselves had approved in 2007, the developer would have been able to perform its contractual obligations and we would be in our respective homes today”, said Melvin Reynolds, president of the pro-tem committee for Paramount View Condominium purchasers.

“Clearly, we are the main victims in this unjust matter and have been suffering in silence. Being at our wits’ end, we can only be hopeful that the MBPJ councillors, Y.B Tony Pua and Y.B. Lau Weng San will consider the emotional and financial strain that every purchaser is going through”, added Melvin.

It is understood that the pro-tem committee have personally communicated with several MBPJ officers but to no avail. The pro-tem committee hopes to have a three-way meeting between MBPJ, the developer and the purchases to amicability resolve this matter as soon as possible without any adverse effects on either party.

ACCESS ROAD DISPUTE

IT is back to square one as far as the access route for the Paramount View Condominium in Petaling Jaya is concerned.

Many thought that the matter was settled with Kumpulan Ikram Sdn Bhd's recent findings - proposing Jalan SS1/39 as the route to the condominium.

But at a meeting yesterday, the Petaling Jaya City Council had discussed Ikram's proposal with residents, but it was shot down by the residents living around Jalan 22/44 in Taman Aman and neighbouring SS1/25 in Kampung Tunku.

The residents had initially expressed support for Jalan SS1/39 to be the main route given it is a long and wide stretch.

But now they are opposing it. Now they want Jalan 21/27 to be the access route for the condominium.

The meeting also raised some old and new issues like cracks in the low-cost flats due to the construction work of the condominium and its lack of parking lots that is not in accordance to Local Building By-Laws. Residents also questioned the approval for the laying of sewage pipes that will be running across the low-cost flats, another exercise disapproved by the dwellers.