Malaysia Property News is a free resource website sharing Daily Property News & information about Property in Malaysia, which related to, Property Market, Property Investment, Commercial Property , Hot Properties Malaysia, Real Estate, Retail Shop, Business Park, Condominium Malaysia, Terraces & Apartment Malaysia, Houses, Residence, Resort and many more.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Resort township still an oil palm estate

For Christopher John and many other aggrieved buyers of the abandoned Bandar Golden Valley Golf Resort in Jasin, Melaka, the road towards finding a solution has been long and gruelling.

Christopher John (third from left) with the aggrieved house buyers of the abandoned Bandar Golden Valley Golf Resort development holding copies of the sale and purchase agreements and brochures of the project.

The resort township, valued at a reported RM380mil started out as a joint-venture between Yeng Chong Realty Sdn Bhd and MBSB Development Sdn Bhd (MBSB), a unit of listed Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB), which is a subsidiary of the Employees Provident Fund.

Construction was to begin in 1999 and it primarily involved bungalow lots with a starting price of RM69,000 o nwards.

According to Christopher, the properties were supposed to be handed over (to the purchasers) in 2002 but it never happened.

“When some of us decided to visit the site in Jasin, we were shocked to find nothing but an oil palm estate! It remains like this until today,” he laments.

He is peeved that no one has offered to provide a clear picture or explanation of what was happening. “This went on for years, with no one giving a straight answer as to what was truly happening.

Purchasers were being kept in the dark, but we were still being told to continue to pay,” Christopher says.

When contacted, an MBSB spokesperson said that its role in the project was to provide financing while Yeng Chong would develop the land. However, things did not happen as planned due to some “issues” and the project failed to take off.

It is further believed that MBSB is taking legal action against the developer. A small group of buyers have formed the Bandar Golden Valley Action Committee (BGVAC) to coordinate its actions. Recently, with the help and advice of the National House Buyers Association, the committee met up with the Public Complaints Bureau, bringing together Yeng Chong, MBSB and the purchasers for the first time.

Unfortunately, he says that there has been no further meetings. “Nothing has been settled and the situation is a stalemate”, says Christopher.

However, the MBSB spokesperson says it is planning to have another meeting with the buyers and developer to find “an amicable solution.” “The BGVAC comprises about 80 people.

We want to reach out to the other buyers who are probably still paying and don’t know that the project has been abandoned. We also want our money back – at market value and with interest. I think it is only fair,” Christopher says.

By The Star

No comments: