End to business agreement

The Seri Negara mansion still looks majestic from the outside.

THE government has evicted the tenant occupying the Carcosa Seri Negara mansions for failing to pay rent since taking over management of the heritage buildings two years ago.

Reliable sources from Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac), which is currently caretaker of the property, told The Star that a social enterprise called Asian Heritage Museum Sdn Bhd (AHM) was offered a three-year tenancy to manage the two mansions that make up Carcosa Seri Negara.

However, AHM has not paid rent since it moved into the properties in April 1, 2017.

Water stains are visible on the ceiling at the second floor of Carcosa.

The Director General Lands and Mines Department (JKPTG) under the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry issued the company a notice to vacate the premises for non-compliance, last year.

An AHM spokesman told The Star that the company had an agreement with JKPTG, stating that rent was payable once the planning permission was approved by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

“On April 7, 2017, we received a letter from JKPTG stating that AHM would not have to pay rent until after planning permission was given by DBKL, ’’ said the spokesman.

When asked if AHM had applied for planning permission during the two years of its tenancy, he replied that the company had not done so.

Overgrown plants and vines are slowly claiming the facade of Carcosa.

“No, we did not. How could we? One requirement was that the existing buildings must be in good tenantable condition before we could submit the plans.

“We would have had to spend at least RM20mil to make the place tenantable, ” he said.

When asked if the company had ever paid the security deposit and any rental since taking over the place, the spokesman said “No.”

The spokesman said the company received a notice from JKPTG, dated April 14, stating that the tenancy was revoked based on a 30-day termination clause contained in the said letter.

“There was no valid reason given for the eviction.

A significant amount of mould at one of the rooms in Carcosa

“In January last year, AHM received a notice to vacate because JKPTG claimed that the deposit and rental was not paid, ” he said.

He said JKPTG then withdrew the notice issued in January last year regarding non-payment of rent, and subsequently issued a termination notice dated April 14, 2019.

“In the recent notice, JKPTG used a 30-day termination clause to evict us without giving reason, ” the spokesman said, adding that even then, the landlord should not have evicted AHM without a court order.

A JKPTG source disagreed, saying that a court order was not necessary since there was no contract for the tenancy.

“No contract was signed and no payments were ever made, ’’ he pointed out.

This was corroborated by the Motac source who said, “The entire deal did not follow standard operating procedure and there was no security deposit or rent paid.’’

According to the offer letter from the Federal Land Commissioner that was shown to The Star, AHM was supposed to pay monthly rental of RM56, 000 which totals up to more than RM1mil owed to the government.

Carcosa with its pink roof looks grand from above surrounded by lush greenery. To the far left is the Seri Negara building.

The company was also required to place a security deposit of RM168, 000, which was equivalent to three months’ rental.

On Feb 11, JKPTG director-general Datuk Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad pasted a notice for AHM to vacate Carcosa Seri Negara.

The Star also contacted Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry which owns the properties but officers declined to comment on the matter.

Carcosa and Seri Negara are two colonial mansions. Carcosa was built in 1896 and was the official residence of the first Federated Malay States Resident-General Sir Frank Swettenham.

Seri Negara was built in 1913 as a guest house for royalty and other dignitaries.

The site was gazetted as National Heritage under the National Heritage Act 2005.