KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) incumbent president Datuk Susan Wong Siew Guen has pledged in her Vision Team manifesto to press for the reduction of Banker Guarantee (BG) for the issuance of the housing developer licence from five per cent to three per cent.
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| From left, Willie, Chong, Loh, Wong, Ten An, Koh, Linda, and Lawrence from the Vision Team at the press conference. |
Wong said the five per cent BG of the total development cost, inclusive of the land cost and bank interest, was too high.
“Now it is time for us to appeal for the reduction from five per cent BG deposit to three per cent, which we believe the amount of three per cent is more than sufficient to prevent abandoned housing projects.
“This is also in line with our counterparts in West Malaysia, that is three per cent BG,” she said in a press conference here yesterday with her Vision Team members.
If re-elected as Shareda president, Wong said she also hold more dialogues with Shareda members to understand and discuss other issues affecting the industry, as well as to organise more fellowship gathering to foster greater relationship among members including those in Sandakan and Tawau.
At the event, Wong said she had to turn down the invitation of Kinsabina Group of Companies’ Francis Goh Fah Shun to a fellowship dinner and dialogue session at the La Vintage Bar and Grill today, March 26.
Goh, leader of the Revamp Team, will be contesting against Wong’s Vision Team in Shareda’s election on Wednesday, March 27.
Wong said she would not be able to attend due to her tight schedules and prior commitments, including having to ensure proper set-up of the annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday.
She thanked Goh for the invitation and said she would organise a fellowship dinner and dialogue with all Shareda members with the latter if she were re-elected as the president.
“As for his contention that the 10 minutes time given to each of the contesting candidate during the AGM to introduce themselves and announce their manifesto was too short, I suggest he could make the speech more focused and the details can be put in writing and printed in leaflet and distributed to the members in the AGM,” she said at a press conference here yesterday.
Wong added that she would look into the issues and grievances voiced by Goh and resolved them accordingly.
In response to Goh’s dissatisfaction over amendment to Shareda’s constitution to extend the president’s tenure from two to three terms, and Wong’s subsequent announcement in offering her last term of service, she explained there were new challenges pertaining to the industry every year which had to be looked into and addressed.
“Last year, in order to be in line with our counterparts in Sarawak, the Sarawak Housing Developer Association of which the president’s maximum tenure is six years, the Shareda council proposed a motion that was later approved by a two-third majority of members in last year’s AGM for the Shareda president’s maximum tenure to be also six years,” she said.
Wong also reiterated on her missions in progress, including the appeal for the 990-year lease term for subdivided titles; appeal to the government to do away with 30 per cent affordable home requirement for new development projects; release of 50 per cent of the five BG after obtaining Occupation Certificate (OC) for the 18 months maintenance period; pursue 36 months completion period for landed properties; and reinstatement of the Federal Treasury Housing Loan Department Sabah Branch.
On the 999-year lease term, Wong reported that the appeal was in its final stage whereby the special report prepared by the Lands and Surveys Department had been submitted to the Natural Resources Office for further action before submitting it to the Chief Minister and State Cabinet for approval.
Although Shareda was appealing to the government to do away with the 30 per cent affordable home requirement, Wong said they would propose better ways to assist the government in reaching the target on providing affordable homes.
On the release of 50 per cent BG, Wong said Minister of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Hj Hajiji Haji Noor had agreed in principle to this proposal during SHARDEA’s courtesy visit on Feb 27 this year, subject to the working paper to be prepared by the Housing Controller before it becomes official.
Shareda has also succeeded in appealing to set up a special payment checking counter at the Housing Loan Division in Putrajaya to handle enquiries exclusively from Sabah, as well as a Green Lane, a fast track counter for all sections including approvals, executions, vouchers and cheques to process all cases from Sabah.
On another note, Wong urged members to attend the AGM on Wednesday, March 27, to exercise their rights to vote at Shareda mini auditorium in Beverly Hills Plaza. Registration will start at 8.30am.
“It will be the first time that Shareda is seeing so many people going for the election but I hope it will be conducted in a family spirit and it should not in any way affect the existing good relationship between all the members,” Wong said.
Meanwhile, Shareda deputy president Datuk Robin Loh Hoon Loi, who will also be defending his post in the election, said he was saddened by the ‘wild accusations’ to ridicule a person (Wong) who has served not only the association, but also the people and schools in Sabah.
“I feel very sad… for a small post of Shareda president which doesn’t bring any glamour.
“I hope that after what I said, please do not draw any wild accusations towards her (Wong’s) leadership because her leadership is proven.”
He also urged the other team not to belittle and respect the delegates as two-thirds of them had voted for the amendment to Shareda constitution to extend the president’s maximum tenure from two terms to three.
Loh pointed out that an association was not about challenging the leadership, but to foster good relationship among members and pursue better interests in housing development with the State Government.
In response to Revamp Team’s question of why Loh did not move up to be president after serving as deputy president for 12 years, Loh said the association was his priority, but not being president.
“If you talk so good about me, why didn’t they (Revamp Team) nominate me (as Shareda president) a few years ago? Unless you want to use me against the president.
“Members have seen all these ridiculous press statements made by them, we do not make any accusations on them, all these I’m responding to the press,” he said, while urging members to vote for Wong.
Loh added that they (Revamp Team) could have spoken out prior to the election and some of them were in Shareda council, rather than voicing their issues for the election.
Datuk Chong Hon Len, who is Shareda incumbent council member and will be contesting for treasurer-general, vouched that the Shareda secretariat was one of the most efficient and hardworking secretariats in the association he was involved in.
Issues regarding policies are complicated and time-consuming due to bureaucracy, he said, adding that it had to be done in a proper manner.
He said the government had set up Pemudah, the special task force to facilitate business, for civil servants and private sector to work together and understand what was inhibiting progress.
Shareda is one of the members in Pemudah and has had a few meetings with the task force.
Chong said members should give the team a chance to sit down and sort out the problems in a proper manner, which would stand to benefit more.
“The private sector wants to do things very fast, but our partner civil servants are locked in bureaucracy.
“You have to unchain them, get through progressively which needs much time and effort. It is a group effort and a continuous process.”
On the other hand, Willie Wong, who is vying for a seat on the council, said the six golf tournaments in a year hosted by six developers, would help build up friendship and network with government servants related to the housing industry, as well as to resolve problems as quickly as possible.
The Revamp Team had proposed to have only two golf tournaments annually.
“I spoke to some government servants, they are happy with six golf tournaments we organise each year, once every two months.
“If this is a waste of time and money, I don’t believe the six hosts will want to hold the tournaments year in year out.”
Incumbent vice president Wong Ten An said that if a government policy was proven to be good, the developers should accept it.
It is wrong to object to government policies without knowing much, he said.
For example, the government imposed the five per cent BG because there were a lot of abandoned housing projects in Malaysia, including Sabah. At that time, the developers saw through the problem as well and were willing to work with the government.
“I hope the members think deeply on these kind of issues, don’t be influenced by certain people that all government policies are wrong.”
Meanwhile, Johnson Koh Yong Siang, who is contesting for a council member, reiterated that the Shareda election should be an individual fight, rather than having camp A or camp B.
When this happens, Koh said members had to select between camp A and camp B, both having strong people, rather than selecting the candidates from both camps.
“Shareda is not a political state or country governed by ministers or chief minister.
“It is led by a council, and members with connections to solve problems.”
Linda Wong Chung Hie and Pengiran Saifuddin Pengiran Tahir, who are contesting for secretary-general and council member respectively, also vouched for Wong’s leadership.
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