PETALING JAYA: The Building Management Association of Malaysia (BMAM) is lobbying to the Housing and Local Government Minister to amend the term “property manager” to “building manager” in the Strata Management Bill.
President Datuk Teo Chiang Kok said the “property manager” should be substituted with a more open term, and not be subject to the interpretation of valuers.
Under the new bill, the association said that property management would be monopolised by licensed valuers following the use of the term “property manager”.
Therefore, it came up with the proposal to use the term “building manager”.
BMAM has proposed the definition for “building manager” to be “any person who has been deemed competent to undertake the normal functions of building management and who has been accredited to, or admitted as a member of, or duty certified by an appropriate professional or registered body”.
BMAM secretary-general Prof S. Venkateswaran said if the bill was gazetted into an act, about 80% of joint management bodies (JMBs) would end up jobless.
Furthermore, the minimum fee that valuers must charge under the proposed act is RM50 per unit, which would be “a great burden to stratified property owners”.
“More than 2.5 million low and middle income earning Malaysians live in flats and apartments countrywide, and they are grappling with the ever-increasing costs of living.
“Any additional layer to building management in the form of a monopoly favouring licensed valuers will most certainly burden them financially, bearing in mind that many of them are registered voters,” BMAM said.
It is understood that BMAM was not consulted or requested to attend or contribute input at any workshops and meetings that were held prior to the drafting of the bill.
The association had released a statement to clarify issues raised by the Malaysian Institute of Professional Property Managers and the House Buyers Association.
Among the issues highlighted were the fiduciary duties and responsibilities of JMBs and management corporations, professional indemnity insurance coverage, Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act, 1981 scale of fees, building management as a multi-disciplinary function, and the monopolisation of licensed valuers on the management of property.
BMAM is the only multi-stakeholder organisation that represents stakeholders in the building industry and property owners. - The Star
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