PETALING JAYA: While supporting the move to charge errant developers, Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia (Rehda) has urged the Government to also take into consideration the reasons why projects were delayed or abandoned.
Developers who are genuinely affected by poor economic or market conditions should not be penalised, said its president Datuk Seri Michael Yam.
“There are circumstances where economic conditions affect the development of a project. The authorities must consider this and only charge the errant developers, not the genuine ones,” he said yesterday.
Rehda represents about 1,000 housing developers in the country.
“However, those involved in fraud or dishonest dealings should be dealt with severely.”
Yam said lawyers and architects who came across developers involved in unlicensed projects should report to the relevant authorities. “Most of the time, we only find out that the project is unlicensed after it is abandoned,” he said.
National Housebuyers Association honorary secretary-general Chang Kim Loong applauded the move to criminalise errant developers.
He also urged the Government not to let the “old criminals” get away.
“Laws are not retrospective in nature. It would only allow for developers who abandon new projects which are undertaken after the amendments come into force, to be penalised.”
He said it was important for the Government to ensure that developers of currently abandoned projects were also penalised.
“While seeking to deter new criminals, we should not allow old criminals to get away scot-free,” he said. - The Star
No comments:
Post a Comment