Abandoned project in Johor Bahru causes grief for housebuyers

Some 340 aggrieved house-buyers held a demonstration in the vicinity of an abandoned housing project in Taman Mount Austin, here yesterday, holding placards in various languages demanding action by the relevant parties.

The housing project in Taman Mount Austin started in 2004 and was scheduled to be completed in 2007 but failed to materialise.

The housebuyers’ action committee chairman, Suhaini Mat Isa, 34, said that the 340 of them are utterly disgusted with the state of affairs pertaining the housing project which up to now has no solution in sight.

He said the housebuyers have given more than ample time for the completion of the housing project.

Legally speaking, he added, the housing developer is obliged to compensate the house buyers for the delay.

Suhaini explained that many of the housebuyers have been shouldering a heavy financial burden over the last few years, having to pay rent for temporary accommodation as well as service the monthly housing loan of their uncompleted homes.

Meanwhile, Permas public complaint centre officer, Syed Othman Syed Ali, said the centre will forward the housebuyers’ complaint to the Johor Menteri Besar, Abdul Ghani Othman, urging him to help to resolve the issue.

He said the centre would arrange for a meeting between the housebuyers and the state government this week.

Should the meeting fail to take place, “we shall [appeal] to the Minister of Housing and Local Government to take the necessary action,” added Syed Othman.