‘Waiting like fools’ to move into new houses

 

The Tebrau Residence in Johor Bahru was originally scheduled to be ready in January last year.

PETALING JAYA: Buyers of units at Tebrau Residence in Johor Bahru under the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme (PR1MA) have been dealt another blow: their house may be ready only in April.

“We have all been waiting like fools for our houses,” said Mohamad Razi, 30. “They (PR1MA) gave us false hope and they keep on changing the completion dates as if they are changing baby’s diapers.”

Originally scheduled to be ready in January 2020, several date changes – partly due to the movement control order (MCO) – had seen the project’s completion delayed to October and then January this year.

On Monday, PR1MA said the project would only be completed on March 31. A day later, the buyers got another shock when they learned that the date had been moved to April despite the project being 99% complete.

Dozens of buyers took to the housing and local government ministry’s Facebook page to air their grievances during the live stream of a speech by its minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.

The buyers said they had lost faith in the project due to its numerous date changes and the lack of communication by PR1MA.

Stretched thin financially after having to keep up with mortgage payments, on top of other commitments such as house rental, they urged the ministry to step in and resolve the matter.

‘Lost count, lost trust’

Razi, who works in Singapore, said he was struggling to keep up with three major expenses every month – rental for his accommodation in Singapore and the house his family now stays in, as well as for servicing the loan for the unit at Tebrau Residence.

He said he had lost count of the number of times the completion date had been changed.

“I am disappointed with our minister and PR1MA. I can’t trust a single word they say. There are no words to describe how I feel about them. I have lost trust in the government,” he said.

Calling PR1MA out for “not keeping its promises”, Nur Izliyana Mohd Zin said she had been waiting for her house keys for the past three years.

“The completion dates on the PR1MA website keep changing and all of us are affected as we have to pay for two homes,” the 31-year-old said.

“That’s why we commented on the live feed. We want the minister to take note. We don’t know what else to do.

“Our salaries are not a lot, please don’t do this to us. Have some compassion for us, especially now during the pandemic.”

A bird’s-eye view of Tebrau Residence.

Compensations started

One of five PR1MA projects in Johor, Tebrau Residence is built on 4.3 hectares of Malay reserve land and consists of 1,284 units with three types of floor plans ranging from 757 sq ft to 1,053 sq ft.

PR1MA chief executive Mohd Nazri Md Shariff previously said RM28 million was allocated to compensate buyers for the late delivery of their homes as per their sale and purchase agreements.

Among those who received such payouts in the form of Liquidated Ascertained Damages is a 34-year-old buyer who was compensated about RM7,200 on Nov 5, with a further RM20,000 to be paid after Vacant Possession, when the property is completed but not yet fit for occupation.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said most of the buyers have to fork out about RM2,000 each month to cover the cost of loan repayments for their Tebrau Residence units and the house rental for their current accommodation.

“Many are angry. It’s sad. There are even retirees who have used their pension funds to pay for these homes,” he said, adding that the majority of buyers are first-time homeowners.

He also did not get a six-month loan moratorium during last year’s MCO and has since taken up some part-time work to make ends meet.

Another buyer, Mohamad Isamuddin Isa, said some buyers had signed up for their units as early as 2016 and were told they would be ready in 2018.

Change in government, unpaid contractors

PR1MA was moved from the Prime Minister’s Department to the housing and local government ministry after the change of government following the last general election, which Isamuddin felt was among the reasons for the delay.

“The project is 99% completed and PR1MA said they are waiting for the certificate of completion and compliance from the Johor Bahru City Council, so we don’t understand why it will take until April,” he said.

“This is a government project and they can speed it up if they want to. We have been waiting for a long time and I’m worried if there is an election soon and the government changes, we will have to wait even longer.”

Another buyer, who wanted to be known as Yazid, claimed the project stalled because contractors were not paid. He asked who would want to “work hard without pay”.

“The contractors have not been paid, which is why there was no work done on the project,” Yazid said.

FMT has reached out to Zuraida and PR1MA’s office for comment. - FMT