15 years later, Sabah house buyers are still the victims
Published on: Sunday, May 11, 2025
Published on: Sun, May 11, 2025 Text Size: The news item from the Daily Express of August 2009, refers. More than 15 years have passed. Has the situation improved? Do house or property buyers get their title within months of moving in like in Singapore? Answer is NO. Maybe it will still be the same few years from now, or even 10 years from now. Ministers come and ministers go. Even the State Government has changed 2-3 times since 2009. The situation is still the same. The house buyers are still the sufferers or victims. The present Housing Minister is a former Assistant Housing Minister. Therefore he should know the problem and deal with it quickly from the day he became Minister. Even the officer in charge of housing when he was Assistant Minister also transferred or retired already. Even New who said this 15 years ago also retired already. Even one of the speakers, lawyer Lam also migrated to Canda already. Nothing has changed. Meanwhile the officers concerned are enjoying fat salaries and maybe receiving 'courtesy calls' from developers every now and then. Still no Strata Titles. One such project is the Cyber City Apartments where owners have lived for more than 10 years. A few have died or sold their properties out of frustration. The Strata Title remains a dream. It seems that even the officers in the Ministry cannot 'touch' the developer. Powerful ah? Of course the developers will give all kinds of excuses when questioned. As stated by one of the speakers the Management Corporation (MC) cannot be used as an excuse It's a separate matter. Election is coming soon. I wonder if after election and there is a new Housing Minister, will the situation improve? I certainly hope so but it's only a hope. No wonder my West Malaysian friend said in Sabah anything goes. My advice to the Housing Minister is, instead of concentrating on jailing housing developers, why don't you concentrate on solving simple matters like Strata Titles. Hefty fines and blacklisting developers will do. Jail does not necessarily solve everything. Their relatives or friends can start new companies and projects as their proxies. While house buyers suffer if a project is delayed or abandoned, equally frustrating will be living in a house for more than 10 years with no Strata Title in sight. Sabah Maju Jaya. Housing Victim The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
an hour ago
- Daily Express
MACC to charge two in Sabah mining case
Published on: Thursday, June 12, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jun 12, 2025 By: Mohamad Fadli, FMT Text Size: Picture by Hari Anggara/The Malay Mail BANGI: Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki has confirmed that at least two individuals are expected to be charged soon in connection with the alleged mining scandal in Sabah. On June 6, a source from MACC said the investigation papers had been completed and submitted to the Attorney-General's Chambers two weeks earlier, and that several individuals could be charged. Advertisement 'I will make an announcement very soon about the one or two individuals to be charged in court,' Azam told a press conference after an MACC event here today. Last month, MACC said it had completed a forensic report on the controversial videos linked to the alleged mining scandal. The alleged scandal was reported in 2024 after a series of videos linking several Sabah assemblymen to it were leaked. The videos allegedly depicted discussions involving bribery and misconduct related to mineral exploration projects in the state. In February, Azam said the initial batch of videos lacked credibility as they were heavily edited. Separately, he said today that the anti-graft agency's probe into the alleged misappropriation of sukuk funds for the construction of a highway in the Klang Valley was expected to take another month or two to complete. 'There are many aspects we need to examine, including document analysis and financial statements,' he added. Yesterday, MACC spent six hours recording a statement from a 'Tan Sri' in its investigation into the highway project at the corporate figure's residence in Kuala Lumpur. The questioning of the 'Tan Sri' continues today. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
Investors hesitant amid global economic concerns, says Tengku Zafrul
Published on: Thursday, June 12, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jun 12, 2025 By: Minderjeet Kaur, FMT Text Size: Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said it is becoming increasingly difficult to make projections on investments. (Bernama pic) Kuala Lumpur: Foreign investors are taking a cautious approach towards new investments in Malaysia due to global economic uncertainties, investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said today. He warned that attracting new investors would be challenging in the current climate, noting that while existing investors in Malaysia remained committed, newcomers were showing hesitation. Advertisement 'Those who have committed have not pulled out. But the ones that have not committed are now thinking (whether to invest or not),' he told reporters during the regional launch of the Asean Economic Community Strategic Plan 2026–2030. He also said it was becoming increasingly difficult to make projections on investments. 'When we have discussions with companies, we understand their concerns. Many (investors) are adopting a wait-and-see approach due to the dynamic geopolitical situation, especially between the US and China. 'New companies looking to invest want to assess the global situation first,' Tengku Zafrul added. When asked about Malaysia's RM89 billion in approved investments in the first quarter of the year – up 3.7% from the same period last year – Tengku Zafrul said it was 'pleasantly surprising' given typical first-quarter sluggishness. 'In terms of foreign investment, it is almost 70% of the investment. And at the same time, we see that the biggest sector is services, especially the digital economy,' he added. Tengku Zafrul is expected to travel to Washington on June 18 to continue negotiations over the US tariffs imposed on Malaysian goods. He said the Malaysian government hopes to persuade Washington to reduce import duties for certain sectors to below 10%. 'We also want to ensure that our local companies exporting to the US – especially in sectors such as furniture and downstream palm oil – are taken into account,' Tengku Zafrul said, adding that these sectors 'are not really in competition' with American industries. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
2% wealth tax would raise more than expanded SST, says ex-MP
Published on: Thursday, June 12, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jun 12, 2025 By: FMT Reporters Text Size: Former Klang MP Charles Santiago argued that it is wrong to keep taxing consumption and not wealth, saying median wages barely keep up with inflation. PETALING JAYA: A 2% wealth tax would raise around 60% more than the RM5 billion in revenue the government hopes to obtain from its expansion of the sales and service tax (SST), says former Klang MP Charles Santiago. In a series of posts on X today, he commented on the assertion by deputy domestic trade and cost of living minister Fuziah Salleh that the government would become 'very unpopular' if it raised taxes on the top 10% of the nation's richest people and redistributed the wealth to the rest of the population. Advertisement 'Malaysia's richest 50 hold US$90 billion (RM380.3 billion) in wealth, as per @Forbes. Why tax bananas and oil before mega mansions?' he said. Speaking at the BBC World Questions debate on Tuesday, Fuziah said that while the distribution of wealth should be more equitable and efficient, the government had to tread carefully in doing so. 'We already hear some noises when we talk about targeted petrol subsidies that may exclude the T20. 'Even the 2% dividend (tax) met some resistance,' Malay Mail reported her as saying, in reference to the introduction of a dividend tax on annual dividend incomes exceeding RM100,000 under the 2025 budget. Last year, finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan said the expansion of the SST was expected to generate RM51.7 billion in revenue in 2025, an additional revenue of RM5 billion over the previous SST collection forecast of RM46.7 billion. However, Santiago insisted that the matter ultimately boiled down to perspective and priorities. 'If you own RM100 million, a 2% wealth tax is RM2 million. That's one less Ferrari. Or less than your annual interest. But RM2 million could fund 500,000 school meals. This is about priorities,' he said. He also argued that it was wrong to keep taxing consumption and not wealth, saying median wages 'barely keep up with inflation'. '@UnicefMY shows low-income families spend 38% of their income on food. Inequality doesn't just grow, it erodes nations. Time to rebalance,' he said. He suggested that the increased revenue could be used, for example, to install solar panels for low-cost housing. 'This cuts electricity bills, creates income, and feeds clean energy into the grid,' he said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
