BY DATO’ ISKANDAR ABDUL SAMAD
1.In February this year, the State Government decided to reduce the RM7 million budget to repair 24 units of elevators in the Seri Perantau Flats through the SMART LIFE Scheme (Smart Lift Improvement For Quality Life). Prior to that, the State Government had offered the Seri Perantau Flat JMB to do the repairs through the CERIA scheme, twice. However, the offer was rejected as the JMB cannot commit to pay a 5% advance.
- According to the 2013 Strata Management Act [Act 757], the Seri Perantau Flat should form a Joint Management Body (JMB). Hence, to help overcome the weaknesses in the flat, the State Government through the Building Commission, Klang Municipal Council (MPK) and Selangor State Development Corporation as well as the Selangor Housing and Property Board has appointed an experienced management agency to restructure the existing management for a more streamlined and orderly transfer of management to the JMB. The appointed management agency has helped to provide the State Government with accurate facts regarding the management issues in the Seri Perantau Flat. Based on those facts, the State Government, through Selangor Housing and Property Board and Building Commission, Klang Municipal Council (MPK) as well as the agency, held various programmes to educate the residents on the responsibilities to pay charges, the management’s capabilities are based on existing collection of charges, care of common properties as well as the roles and the advantages of having a JMB.
- Although the step to educate is not popular and “invisible” but it is important as the State Government emphasized on the need for a smart community development for the long-term. This is because, the State Government has produced many JMB in low-cost flats which are successful, in fact their management are much better than some medium and premium flats. The main reason for the failure of Seri Perantau Flat management is because the previous Government had only focused on relocating people from squatters and they were infused with the culture of subsidies or everything is free to such an extent that education on the culture of living in a community has been neglected.
- The State Government has also seriously resolved the land ownership issue at the Seri Perantau Flat to enable the process of issuing strata tittles to owners. In fact, not repeating previous mistakes, the State Government has ordered PKNS to issue strata-titles based on two lots to prevent management issues due to the total number of house units which is not ideal for a one lot of land ownership.
- The State Government is disappointed because there has been no enforcement action from the Federal Government until the State Government had to think outside-the-box to formulate various programmes to overcome existing weaknesses. However, while the State Government is trying its best without giving up, to help the residents of Seri Perantau Flat, it is unfair to accuse that the State Government has failed and being hands-off.
