Some residents of Ipoh Garden East Apartment want to replace their management committee due to its alleged failure to quickly address problems at the development and the unsatisfactory maintenance there, reported The Star
Among the complaints at Ipoh Garden East Apartment, which comprises 160 residential units across four-storey blocks, involves leaking pipes as well as broken mailboxes and manhole covers.
For instance, 60-year-old resident KMM Sarojini Devi revealed that she was sometimes snubbed when she asked the committee to repair some facilities.
“The committee always takes their own sweet time. Sometimes, they even ignore us. I have been living here for 30 years.”
The former kindergarten teacher also pointed out that workers hired by the committee are not instructed to thoroughly clean the estate and its surrounding areas.
“Their contract workers only clean certain areas. When confronted, the workers said they were instructed to only clean up certain places to save water.”
“There were no issues until the committee was elected in 2015. I really hope a new committee can be elected in to resolve our problems.”
Jane Kwan, who has resided there for around 23 years, revealed that they had submitted a petition to their management in 2015 to fix an obstructed pipe inlet that was disrupting water supply to 16 units at Blocks E and F.
“For 37 days, we did not have water to bathe, cook and clean. Unable to stand the delay, I used my own money, about RM1,400, to fix the problem.”
“I then asked for a refund, or to have the amount deducted monthly from the maintenance fee but my request was ignored. Since that happened, I have not paid the maintenance fee.
Moreover, the 51-year-old real estate broker claimed that members of the committee flouted the Strata Titles Act for remaining in their position for five straight years, as the body’s chairman, secretary and treasurer are prohibited from holding their office for over two consecutive years.
“There was supposed to be an annual general meeting in April to discuss the issues faced by the residents and have an election for a new committee but it was not held. The matter was also brought up to the Ipoh City Council Commissioner of Buildings but no action was taken against the committee,” she noted.
In response to residents’ allegations, management committee chairman Raymond insisted that they did not violate the Strata Titles Act.
“We held our annual general meetings. We have also sent our financial report to an accountant firm for auditing. If there were issues, the Commissioner of Buildings would have taken action and issued us a notice.”
Regarding the obstructed pipe repaired by Kwan, he explained that the committee discovered that the pumphouse needed to be fixed as well.
“The building is old. I called for a meeting with the residents about fixing the problems. The residents, however, had asked Kwan to pay and fix the clogged pipe first.” But I think that was not the proper way to do it.
Concerning Kwan’s allegation that the management failed to reimburse her expenses for repairing the obstructed pipe, he said the issue was already settled by the Housing and Strata Management Tribunal in August.
Meanwhile, Ipoh City Councillor Wong Kar Keat revealed that the authorities are investigating the complaints at Ipoh Garden East Apartment
“It is too early for me to comment on anything now, as I have just gotten to know about it. I will be calling the residents to have a meeting with the Commissioner of Buildings to have a better understanding of the issue.”
Although the Commissioner of Buildings has yet to comment on the issue, the commissioner and one of the complainants met on Monday (3 Sep) to discuss the issues there.
Image sourced from The Star
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
Avoid being victims by understanding your rights as a property buyer. Read up more here!
