MELAKA: A top Melaka official has urged stakeholders in the state government to outline a standard operating procedure (SOP) guideline in managing complaints against property management companies of strata buildings in the state.
Deputy Speaker of the Melaka State Legislative Assembly Kerk Chee Yee said he sees the SOP as a crucial element as well as a mechanism for dealing with complaints and non-compliance by management companies in ensuring the safety and the interest of residents at strata properties.
“This SOP is deemed important to enable joint management bodies (JMB) and management corporations (MC) to take action against management companies who failed to perform their duties as well as act against the complaints from residents on matters relating to building maintenance, security and hygiene levels at such properties,” he said on Friday (Feb 2).
Earlier, Kerk, who is also the Ayer Keroh assemblyman, had met an elderly couple at his service centre in Ayer Keroh here when they sought his assistance after losing all their belongings from their condominium unit at Subang Jaya in Selangor.
The couple claimed that their tenant, in his mid-20s, had rented their unit for a year and had stolen all their furniture and electrical appliances worth RM20,000.
Kerk was told by the couple that a representative of the property management company at the condominium had no proper records of the lorry used to transport the items out of the unit and the details of the tenant moving out during the incident in September last year.
The couple from Melaka, he said, had lodged a police report over the incident.
Kerk said the property management company also refused to take responsibility for their negligence in the incident while the MC had not entertained the couple's request to investigate and assist them during the difficult period,” he said.
Kerk said the SOP should be designed to empower residents of strata property to channel their complaints against property management companies to the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) where the JMB or MC would be compelled to take action.
He said currently COB will only intervene in any matters breaching the Strata Management Act 2013 and enforcing Act 757 to provide proper maintenance and management of buildings, common property and related matters.
“However, the SOP will be able to address issues, especially on how to manage ineffective property management companies and a channel to complain to relevant agencies if the JMB or MC ignore the complaints of residents in strata properties,” he added.
