By CHARLES FERNNADEZ
charlesf@thestar.com.my
RESIDENTS of Arena Green in Bukit Jalil are claiming that the management corporation (MC) has mismanaged the sinking fund.
They claimed that Arena Green Management Corporation, a subsidiary of Raine, Horne and Zaki Property Management, has not informed the unit owners on the use of the fund, totalling about RM500,000.
The residents also voiced their displeasure with the MC for not serving notice to the owners before any transaction.
Resident Ron Yuen said it was a requirement for the management committee to inform the owners but procedures were not followed.
Plenty of things to say: The residents waiting to attend the AGM.
“The residents would want to know how their money is being used and for what purpose,” he said at the annual general meeting of the MC recently.
He said according to Section 41 of the Strata Titles Act 1985, the management corporation should inform the residents on the jobs carried out every year.
However, he added that the MC had claimed that the expenditure was necessary for the management of the six apartment blocks.
The residents also opposed the MC’s decision to increase the service charges and sinking fund paid by the owners from the current 0.09sen per sq ft to 0.13 per sqft.
Yuen said in most cases owners had carried out their own repairs to their units and maintenance of the blocks was low and therefore there was no need to increase the service charges and sinking fund.
There are 1,240 units in the six blocks with the owners of the smallest unit paying RM61.20 per month.
During the AGM, a new committee was elected to look into the accounts.
The MC’s head of property services, Vijayakumar Ponnusamy, said it was only appropriate that the service charges were increased as the property was located in a prime area and this was the first increase.
“The maintenance charges have also increased as we have to sub-contract some of the work. As a company, which just took over the management two years ago, we are just doing our job,’’ said Vijayakumar.
Vijayakumar said the MC was not asking the residents to contribute towards the sinking fund but accept the increase in the service charges.
He also refuted claims that no annual report and accounts on this sinking fund was furnished.
The new committee allowed the MC to increase the service charges by 0.02 sen for the present moment.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
PKNS to answer SOS calls
SOME USEFUL INFORMATION - PERRHAPS SOMETHING THE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES CAN LOOK INTO ALSO, A QUICK RESPONSE TEAM SERVICE
Residents of flats and apartments built by the Selangor Development Corporation (PKNS) do not have to worry if they do not have a joint management body (JMB) to attend to their complaints.
This is because PKNS has mobilised its Response Team in Petaling Jaya, Kota Damansara and Bangi, to attend to residents’ complaints. The team is expected to arrive within an hour after the complaint is made.
“This is a special service and a temporary solution that PKNS is offering to residents of our flats and apartments without a JMB.
“However, we encourage all residential high-rises to set up JMBs,” said PKNS general manager Othman Omar at the launch of the response team at SACC Mall in Shah Alam on Sunday.
He said 20 personnel would be travelling in seven yellow-orange vans to answer SOS calls from the people.
He added that the personnel who were from the civil and electrical engineering department had undergone customer relations courses to help them deal with the public.
“They will be able to attend to roof leakages, drainage and electrical problems,” he said.
He added that residents were not required to pay upfront for the service as it had been included in their standard monthly maintenance fee.
Othman said the team would be operating from 8am to 5pm, but would consider a 24-hour service if the need arose.
The PKNS hotline is 1-300-88-7567.
Residents of flats and apartments built by the Selangor Development Corporation (PKNS) do not have to worry if they do not have a joint management body (JMB) to attend to their complaints.
This is because PKNS has mobilised its Response Team in Petaling Jaya, Kota Damansara and Bangi, to attend to residents’ complaints. The team is expected to arrive within an hour after the complaint is made.
“This is a special service and a temporary solution that PKNS is offering to residents of our flats and apartments without a JMB.
“However, we encourage all residential high-rises to set up JMBs,” said PKNS general manager Othman Omar at the launch of the response team at SACC Mall in Shah Alam on Sunday.
He said 20 personnel would be travelling in seven yellow-orange vans to answer SOS calls from the people.
He added that the personnel who were from the civil and electrical engineering department had undergone customer relations courses to help them deal with the public.
“They will be able to attend to roof leakages, drainage and electrical problems,” he said.
He added that residents were not required to pay upfront for the service as it had been included in their standard monthly maintenance fee.
Othman said the team would be operating from 8am to 5pm, but would consider a 24-hour service if the need arose.
The PKNS hotline is 1-300-88-7567.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Residents and JMB lock horns
By KHARLEEZ ZUBIN
kharleez@thestar.com.my
CLAIMS of misappropriation of funds and widespread cheating of foreign tenants by some Palm Court Condominium management staff are the latest twist in a long-running dispute between residents and the caretakers of the largest condominium in Brickfields.
In the latest development, Palm Court the pro tem action committee has issued an ultimatum to the Joint Management Body (JMB) to produce documents of financial transactions.
“We have furnished evidence of issuance of double receipts to mostly foreign residents and visitors for entry pass, fines for lifting clamps on cars and water meters but the money collected is not reflected in the JMB accounts,” action committee chairman and resident K. K. Supramaniyam told StarMetro yesterday.
The action committee has alleged that about RM144,000 has been collected by the staff without authorisation and not banked in.
“The JMB is dragging its feet on this matter and if they don’t get to the bottom of it, then we will call for an extraordinary general meeting to vote them out and refer the matter to the police,” he added.
Initially, the JMB has denied there were discrepancies but when evidence started pouring in, its committee members reluctantly agreed to take “appropriate measures”, but stopped short of agreeing to an independent audit as demanded by the action committee.
However, they removed the two female staff, who residents claim have been terrorising foreign nationals under specific orders from a couple of JMB committee members.
When contacted Chitra Devi said she did not pocket the money and that the money collected was handed over to the JMB committee.
The other employee, Nor Anna Majid, could not be reached for comment.
According to licensed real estate broker and long-time resident K. Vijay some JMB members are not happy that freelance brokers are making money out of unit rentals.
“I think they want to put pressure on the foreign nationals so that the brokers will have a tough time getting tenants and eventually take over the rental business,” he said.
Other residents who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals from JMB said it was not difficult for the two women to have carried out such a scam behind the back of JMB members.
There were several occasions when JMB members were spotted retrieving receipt books from the guardhouse early in the morning.
But when the issuance of double and unauthorised receipts were brought to the attention of the JMB the books disappeared from the guardhouse, said a woman tenant.
The books are placed with the guards to collect RM10 for visitors or relatives of tenants who come after office hours.
When contacted JMB chairman M. Ravichandar refused to be drawn into the controversy.
“Sorry this doesn’t concern you and I have nothing to say to you,” was all he had to say before putting down the phone.
Ever since the JMB came into existence two years ago there has been no short of controversies.
It has been accused of abuse of power in implementing house rules and blamed for trying to clamp down on foreign nationals renting there.
On one occasion two deputy ministers had to intervene to calm things in a showdown between JMB and the residents committee.
In the incident, JMB chained the front gate facing Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad to prevent outsiders from frequenting a restaurant in the premises.
kharleez@thestar.com.my
CLAIMS of misappropriation of funds and widespread cheating of foreign tenants by some Palm Court Condominium management staff are the latest twist in a long-running dispute between residents and the caretakers of the largest condominium in Brickfields.
In the latest development, Palm Court the pro tem action committee has issued an ultimatum to the Joint Management Body (JMB) to produce documents of financial transactions.
“We have furnished evidence of issuance of double receipts to mostly foreign residents and visitors for entry pass, fines for lifting clamps on cars and water meters but the money collected is not reflected in the JMB accounts,” action committee chairman and resident K. K. Supramaniyam told StarMetro yesterday.
The action committee has alleged that about RM144,000 has been collected by the staff without authorisation and not banked in.
“The JMB is dragging its feet on this matter and if they don’t get to the bottom of it, then we will call for an extraordinary general meeting to vote them out and refer the matter to the police,” he added.
Initially, the JMB has denied there were discrepancies but when evidence started pouring in, its committee members reluctantly agreed to take “appropriate measures”, but stopped short of agreeing to an independent audit as demanded by the action committee.
However, they removed the two female staff, who residents claim have been terrorising foreign nationals under specific orders from a couple of JMB committee members.
When contacted Chitra Devi said she did not pocket the money and that the money collected was handed over to the JMB committee.
The other employee, Nor Anna Majid, could not be reached for comment.
According to licensed real estate broker and long-time resident K. Vijay some JMB members are not happy that freelance brokers are making money out of unit rentals.
“I think they want to put pressure on the foreign nationals so that the brokers will have a tough time getting tenants and eventually take over the rental business,” he said.
Other residents who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals from JMB said it was not difficult for the two women to have carried out such a scam behind the back of JMB members.
There were several occasions when JMB members were spotted retrieving receipt books from the guardhouse early in the morning.
But when the issuance of double and unauthorised receipts were brought to the attention of the JMB the books disappeared from the guardhouse, said a woman tenant.
The books are placed with the guards to collect RM10 for visitors or relatives of tenants who come after office hours.
When contacted JMB chairman M. Ravichandar refused to be drawn into the controversy.
“Sorry this doesn’t concern you and I have nothing to say to you,” was all he had to say before putting down the phone.
Ever since the JMB came into existence two years ago there has been no short of controversies.
It has been accused of abuse of power in implementing house rules and blamed for trying to clamp down on foreign nationals renting there.
On one occasion two deputy ministers had to intervene to calm things in a showdown between JMB and the residents committee.
In the incident, JMB chained the front gate facing Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad to prevent outsiders from frequenting a restaurant in the premises.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
