Housing Issue in Pulau Indah

Banks, developers accused of cheating
BERNAMA
Saturday, May 14th, 2011 19:22:00
PORT KLANG: About 1,400 buyers of apartments planned for five sites on Pulau Indah are asking the authorities to investigate allegations that bank personnel and the developers are colluding to deceive them.

The buyers made part payments in 1999 for apartments at Bahtera, Yamin Tower, Indah Heights, Yamin Heights and Mutiara Heights costing RM45,000 to RM120,000 which were supposed to be completed in 2003.

While none of the apartments had been completed, many of the buyers had received letters from banks asking them to pay what they still owed for the units or risk being declared a bankrupt.

Chairman of the committee of Indah Heights, Yamin Heights and Mutiara Heights buyers Wan Zamzahidi Wan Zahid said that some of the banks appeared to have issued the full amount of loans to the developers even though the projects had not been completed.

He was especially concerned because the developers did not seem to have obtained approval to change the status of the project sites from agricultural to residential land.

"A file search showed that the developers had not obtained permission from the Klang Municipal Council to build on the land," he told reporters here.

Chairman of the committee for the Bahtera apartment buyers Anuar Ibrahim said the banks had given loans in full to the developers without them meeting the stipulated conditions.

He said that he had lodged reports with the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Selangor government.