Buying Home: Booking Fees

Can the developer confiscate your booking fee?
by Chang Kim Loong, Star Property.my

I found my dream house. The developer’s office said the project was selling like hot cakes. Sales were on a first come first serve basis’ and I must pay a deposit otherwise she would have to give it to someone else. Or was it a booking fee she called it?

I begged her to give me one week. Three days, she said. How very sweet and understanding of her. Bank loan? No problem… 85% loan margin? No problem, she assured me. If I could not get a housing loan I could always cancel and get my money back. I left the developer’s office feeling on top of the world. I had secured my dream house by paying the deposit. My dream turned into a nightmare when I could not get a bank loan. I had no choice but to forgo the house.

As if letting go of my dream was not bad enough, the developer now refuses to give me back my deposit. The lady said her hands were tight because it’s a management decision. It was not stated in the option letter’ or booking form’ that my purchase was subject to the loan approval. On reading the terms and conditions in the option letter/booking form, I now realised that all terms were inclined in favour of the developer.

What do I do? I just want my money back. I don’t mind if they keep a small sum for cost of paper work and for administrative purposes.

The above scenario is not at all uncommon.

Many house buyers are unaware of lending guidelines requiring loans to be tagged to net income as opposed to gross income. Many find that they are unable to obtain the financing they want and have to withdraw from an intended purchase before the sale and purchase agreement is even signed. The developer then refuses to refund the deposit or booking fee or whatever other payment which may have already been paid.

The unfortunate part about this whole thing is that house buyers do not have the luxury of a learning curve in which they can acquire the necessary skills to avoid getting themselves into trouble. Very often by the time they realised that they have made a mistake, it is already too late and the result can be traumatic and financially crippling.

This very noble and seemingly simple undertaking of buying a house, in a lot of cases, have gone terribly wrong.

Can developers collect booking fee or deposit?

The sale and purchase agreement (Schedule G, H, I or J) as prescribed by the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations, 1989 (the Housing Regulations) provides very clearly how the purchase price is to be paid. The first 10% is payable immediately upon the signing of the sale and purchase agreement (SPA), not before.

No collection of any payment is allowed before the SPA is signed. Deposit, booking fee, advance payment, administration charges are just some of terms used by some devious developers in their vain attempts to circumvent or contract out of the Housing Regulations and to confuse, mislead and convince nave house buyers especially the first-timers.

Collection of any payment by a housing developer before the signing of the SPA is an offence. This is very clear under the Housing Regulations and it does not matter what the developer calls it.

The Housing Regulation 11(2) stated: “No housing developer shall collect any payment by whatever name called except as prescribed by the contract of sale”. (In this context’ contract of sale means the SPA)

Commission of such an offence under the Housing Regulations means that the developer in question can be prosecuted, fined and/or even imprisoned under Regulations 13. Even those persons who knowingly and willfully aids, abets, counsel, procures or commands the commission of such an offence shall be liable to be punished.

Prosecution, however, is in the hands of the public prosecutor whose action or non-action the house buyers are not able to dictate. House buyers and indeed the general public are of course at liberty to lodge a complaint against any developer in breach of any housing laws. Such complaints can be lodged with the Enforcement Division of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government: www.kpkt.gov.my

The law as regards non-payment before the signing of the SPA is very clear and house buyers are strongly urged to understand the law and not be misled by some cunning, unscrupulous developers or their smooth talking sales representatives who either do not know the law or simply do not care about the law.

Profit orientated developers care about nothing but profit. The more they sell the more they gain. They engage marketing commission agents and sales representatives whose only mission is to sell. In their quest to sell their products, some unprincipled commission agents (secondary markets included), who are untruthful will not hesitate to mislead, conveniently telling “white lies” and make empty promises to make a quick buck. Some are so well trained in the art of selling they can probably sell sand to the man in the desert.

Ever wondered why the sales office told you there are only five units left but three months later there are more than 10 units still available? Did the developer’s office tell you the unit you want is already booked but called you two days later to congratulate you because the same unit has just become available? Ever gone to a developer’s office in the hope of getting the “Early Bird Discount” advertised the day before only to find that the project was launched more than a year ago?

Filing a claim for refund

Free gifts, rebates, and waivers of this or that are also fairly commonly seen and are often stated to be for a limited time only. House buyers hurry to meet the deadline. Three months later the same advertisement appears, again for a limited time only or perhaps extended due to popular demand. Gimmicks of “Free legal fees” offer but you must use the developer’s panel lawyers are commonly marketed.

The list of marketing ploys used by developers and their marketing alliance goes on and unscrupulous developers and real estate agents are not likely to stop trying to exploit vulnerable house buyers any time soon. House buyers must therefore be very wary and not be easily swayed by promises made by the developer’s office.

House buyers who are already caught in tussles with housing developers over refund of booking fee or deposit are at liberty to file their claims at the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims (the Housing Tribunal). The Housing Tribunal was set up as an alternative forum for house buyers to save them the costs and hassle of fighting with housing developers in the civil courts.

The filing fee is only RM10; no lawyers are required and hearings are normally fixed within a month. The Housing Tribunal is empowered to hear disputes between house buyers and licensed housing developers even though the SPA is yet to be signed but the claims must be filed within the time frames provided under section 16N of the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Act 1966 (the HDA). Check out the link: www.kpkt.gov.my TTPR

Can the developer forfeit such payment?

Where booking fee or deposit or any other payment is collected by the developer before the SPA is signed, the house buyer would normally have been asked to sign a document indicating the house/apartment/condominium he/she is interested and agreeing to sign the SPA within a certain time frame, say 7 or 10 days or upon notice from the developer. This document may be in the form of an option letter, letter of offer, sales proforma, booking form or another document by whatever name the developer chooses to call it, all in an attempt to disguise a collection prohibited by law.

The amount varies and in some cases it is as much as 2% of the purchase price RM10,000 for a RM500,000 house. When the house buyer decides to withdraw from the intended purchase, the developer refuses to refund the deposit, or was it booking fee, or was it …?

Chang Kim Loong is the honorary secretary-general of the National House Buyers Association: www.hba.org.my, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation manned by volunteers. He is also a NGO councillor at the Subang Jaya Municipality Council.

Make Sure Your Developer is Licensed

Plight of kampung land owners
by Chang Kim Loong, Star Property.my

ABOUT two years ago, an English daily highlighted the plight of land owners who had entered into joint ventures with unlicensed developers to build houses on their (home owners’) land.

Most of these deals involved land in the kampung (or villages). When these partnerships turned soured and were subsequently highlighted in the press, the Housing Ministry warned it was going to catch these businessmen, most of whom were small-time developers out to make a quick buck.

However, until today, no action seems to have been taken on these errant developers while the victims continue in their miseries and financial nightmares due to abandoned projects and botched joint ventures.

The Housing Ministry had warned that it was going to catch many businessmen, even small-time ones, as it was going to make it a requirement that all those who wished to develop a housing estate of only five houses should get a developer’s licence.

The Ministry seems rather proud of its wide-ranging powers and had a swooping determination (to weed out these unlicensed developers). It is really unfortunate nothing seems to have come out of that incident.

Swarms of entrepreneurs of the kampung variety, and some city slickers too, had invaded the countryside, and signed on owners of kampung land on the promise of turning them (the land owners) into developers. The wish was to turn idle kampung land into properly-built houses to sell to kampung people, usually by having joint ventures with the land owners.

“Give me your land to develop and I will give you X number of houses, and I shall take Y number of houses for my troubles; no cost to you, no hassles with government servants, no bank loans; no worries at all.” The current deal is 30:70; 30 % for the land proprietor and 70% for the housing developer.

Tricks of the trade

Kampung people as usual were wary; they were not going to buy till the project had got under way, and the proof to them was to give at least a house to the land owner and an enormous upfront deposit as the most convincing evidence of the developer’s sincerity. Perhaps, an upfront RM500,000 would be an ideal bait.

Firstly, said the developer, he needed the money to start building the land owners’ houses so it was not difficult to persuade them to charge their lands for the purpose. The other houses will have to wait including mine, said the developer most sweetly: no risk there you see, the land is still yours.

The developer then left for the city to apply for his licence which required the payment of a deposit to the Housing Ministry, and, of course, there were other payments to be made to various parties in the Government and arrangements had to be made with a construction company; all of which helped to collect the loan money from the land-owner-chargor.

However, the developer has not been heard from for some time now. The land owner/ would-be kampung entrepreneur/chargor went to the Housing Ministry to complain and demanded action to be taken and he was confident this will be done. You see, he knows the wakil rakyat.

Alas, said the legal officer to the kampong man: “So sorry, you had dealt with a person who has no license to be a developer. Under the law, we have no powers to prosecute an unlicensed developer who has abandoned the project.”

“Take action against him (the housing developer) for not having a licence; he has done all that a developer does including (entering into) contracts with intending purchasers and collecting deposits from them. There are at least 10 of them,” said the kampung man.

It is said, “the law is an ass” or that seems how we have made it out to be.

What the Housing Ministry’s legal officer could not bring himself to say is that the legal officers had tied their own hands by adopting a strange, restrictive reading of the law that to qualify as a housing developer, he should have undertaken to build and actually sell, at least, five houses, and to the legal officers it meant producing at least that number of house buyers to testify that they had indeed bought houses from a bogus housing developer!

The sale and purchase agreements and other documentary evidence and the evidence even of the developer’s own staff do not constitute evidence; the developer must plead guilty or there must be at least five buyers coming forward to give evidence; till then there is going to be no legal action against the bogus housing developer.

A request made by the Housing Ministry to the Bar Council for its advice on the professional liability of solicitors who act for unlicensed developers, sent more than a year ago, is still under consideration. At the latest count, there were at least 115 law firms, according to the records of the Housing Ministry, who did not seem to care to find out if their developer-clients were licensed or not.

The irony is it does not seem to matter whether the developer is licensed or not; they all abandon their projects with impunity.

Sadly, most of the lands in the rural areas are Malay Reserve Land which come under greater protection from the state but the banks are now gearing up to foreclose the only wealth the would-be kampung entrepreneur ever had, and had intended to bequeath to his children the way he had inherited it, coming from nenek moyang days.

Cry of the naive victims

Now, where do we go from here when the very people who initiated the housing laws shun their responsibilities? Shouldn’t buyers from unlicensed housing developers have the same protection as those buying from licensed ones? Where are the rescue plans for the naive victims of these Malay Reserve Land? Mind you, there are mostly current and retired civil servants.

Note: It has been two years since the list of the unlicensed housing developers has been unearthed.

Chang Kim Loong is the honorary secretary-general of the National House Buyers Association (www.hba.org.my), a non-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) manned by volunteers. He is also a NGO Councillor at the Subang Jaya Municipality Council.

Kebenaran Merancang (Planning Permission)

When UEM Sunrise, IJM, UM Land, Sime Darby, PKNS or any developers in Malaysia intend to develop an area for a new township, even at their own land, they will start by applying for a planning approval. According to the Urban and Rural Planning Act (Act 172: Akta Perancangan Bandar dan Desa 1972), any individual or company is required to obtain planning approval or Kebenaran Merancang (KM) from the local authority prior to any new development. Therefore, before Sime Darby can turn Bukit Chermin and into Putra Height, they had to get through Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ). Before Prasarana Berhad can erect the viaduct for the extension of their Light Rail Transit (LRT) or dug the tunnels for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), they had to get through all the authorities of all the involving area - Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ), Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ), Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA) and so on. No construction can commence without Planning Approval from the respective authority.

Planning Permission allows the respective party, under supervision and authority of the local government, to conduct development works according to the plan and condition of which will decide including but not limited to proposed width and level of road and street, proposed height level, design, function, space, density and plot ratio of residential or commercial unit and other type of buildings, other proposal of land use, utilities provision for recreational space, community centre, school and other facilities required, and other condition for orderly development. The objective of planning approval is to ensure that all development and land use by any developers is conducted properly without initiating pollution, disturbance, traffic congestion, increase of infrastructural burden, decrease of value and amenities, floods or any other unwanted problem to the neighborhood and the community including social and economical issues.

The procedure and duration for application for KM is different from one municipality to another. Sometimes, even two municipal in one states can have different operation in processing application. However I believe the core of the application process would be in similar form in anyway. In Malaysia, bureaucracy always be the most annoying thing while dealing the government officers. All the government great plan  usually turn out hard to implement due to red tape from their staff. Currently I'm still learning the procedures for KM and will come back to you once I can understand the surface and underground stream flows.

PR1MA - One Malaysia Peoples’ Housing

Most of you must already familiar with the government's PR1MA branded housing. I bet thousands of you have already enrolled into this scheme since PR1MA Corporation established under PR1MA (1Malaysia Peoples’ Housing) Act 2012.

PR1MA objective is to plan, develop, build and offer modern and high quality houses for middle income urban citizen. PR1MA housing is located within community area with various types and sizes. The cost to own a PR1MA house is anticipated to be around RM100,000 to RM400,000, a very reasonable price for middle income family.

As to date, at least 9 PR1MA housing will be build within Klang Valley. 3 will be build at Johor, and another 8 are at other states, including 3 at Sabah. The following are the list of the PR1MA housing.

1. Alam Damai, Cheras
2. Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur
3. Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur
4. Jalan Bukit, Kajang, Selangor
5. Jalan Jubilee, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur
6. Pandan Indah, Selangor
7. Pandan Jaya, Selangor
8. Seremban Sentral, Negeri Sembilan
9. Seremban Utara, Negeri Sembilan
10. Setapak, Kuala Lumpur
11. Taman Bukit Cheras, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
12. Taman Cempaka, Selangor
13. Bandar Layangkasa, Johor Bahru
14. Jalan Saujana, Mukim Plentong, Johor
15. Tebrau, Johor
16. Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang
17. Bukit Gelugor, Pulau Pinang
18. Slim River, Perak
19. Sungai Petani, Kedah
20. Bunut Rendang, Kuantan
21. Borneo Cove, Sabah
22. Inanam, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
23. Sandakan City Centre, Sandakan, Sabah

To apply for PR1MA, a person and his/her spouse must be:

• Malaysian citizen
• Single or married
• At least 21 years old on the application date
• Gross household income must fall within RM2,500 toRM7,500
• Applicant and/or spouse not have more than one existing property

Eligible applicants must apply for the balloting of the homes through the PR1MA registration system via www.pr1ma.my. Applicants are also required to submit the relevant documents for screening purposes.

End financing for the homes are to be arranged by the successful applicants themselves. There is a 10-year moratorium, whereby the properties cannot be sold or transferred to another party. The homes must be owner-occupied and no subletting would be allowed.

For lower middle income individual, PR1MA is without doubt a great opportunity for you to own house at a discounted price. The only downside of it is most of the proposed development are stratified apartments. Only few are landed houses, including the recently launched PR1MA at Sungai Petani, Kedah. However it is up to you to decide based on your household budget and future plan.

I wish you all the best.

Greater KL and Smart City Conference 2014

In the 10th Malaysian Plan (10 MP 2011-2015), Kuala Lumpur ranked 79 out of 130 cities under the Economist Intelligence Unit survey on livability. Major plans have been identified under the (NKRAs) to address this, particularly on combating crime and improving urban public transport. Livability, however, encompasses a broader concept, and initiatives to create attractive public spaces, nurture a uniquely internationally relevant arts and culture scene, and provide a rich mix of leisure activities will create a distinctive urban character for the Greater Kuala Lumpur

As the capital and commercial heart of the country, the Greater Kuala Lumpur (KL)/Klang Valley NKEA represent a crucial component in the plan to transform Malaysia into a high-income nation by 2020. The overall aim is to transform the region into a world-class metropolis that will boast top standards in every area from business infrastructure to liveability.

ASLI ‘s Greater KL & Smart City 2014 will be updating executive delegates the selected key areas that are expanding for its future completion in 2020. This one day forum will be combining the big mind and powers that has been the pulse of development of the greater KL now, before and in the future.

Limaspuri - Johore Architectural Heritage Reborn

Just short introduction for our friend from outside Nusantara. Johore is the southernmost state in Peninsular Malaysia, and is located between the 1°20"N and 2°35"N latitudes. Historically, it is the last kingdom from Srivijaya and Malacca linage that survive the colonial era, and the only nation in South East Asia, other than Rama Kingdom of Thailand that is always independent from any European occupation. In the past, its territory comprises most part of Sumatra and Malay Peninsular including Singapore and most of the islands at South China Sea. Its rich culture is made up of harmonious blend of various tradition from all place in Nusantara. Limas house is one of the many heritage of Johore. To learn about Limas House, you might want to read my older post on it. (Read it here).

For all peoples who had visited Johore several years back might be lucky to be able to see a replica of a Johore Malay Village located at Danga Bay, Johore Bahru. There were several pretty and unique traditional Limas houses in a kind of village setting, with a little shop, reflexology place, restaurant with a beautiful veranda and many more. The site can be spotted no more. It had been pulled down to ground to give way for a more expensive commercial development. Even I had no chance of seeing it. Realizing the missing of a place symbolising Johor’s Malay heritages at the heart of Johore capital, an effort had been made through a collaboration of the State Government of Johor and her subsidiary Cahaya Jauhar, with expertise of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's Malay World Research Centre or Pusat Kajian Alam Melayu (KALAM) to build a new village of Malay Limas Houses. The project is called Limaspuri Melayu Johor.


Originally, Limaspuri was proposed to be build at Danga Bay near the old Limas villages site but then, it was given a bigger location at Linear Park (Qiblat Axis), Nusajaya near the state's new administrative centre, Kota Iskandar and Malaysian Legoland themepark. At least ten Johore Limas houses will be build based on the KALAM research on the existing traditional house in Johore. The project was scheduled to be launched during the Visit Johor Year 2015 and ready for opening by 2016. When it is completed, Limaspuri will has a gallery complete with a theatrette, exclusive Johore restaurant, hall and surau. It will embody the state's rich, varied and intricate artistic heritage, evident in everything from elaborately carved Malay motifs, exceptional woodwork and the exquisite expressions of master artisans and landscaping that harmoniously blends nature with man-made ingenuity.

The Limaspuri Melayu Johor is part experiential showcase, part edutainment hub and part theme park, a place where the past, present and future converge to inspire hearts, minds and spirits. There will be lot of fun activities to be done at each Limas house, and beside the Malay architectural amazes, visitors can also learn on the other aspect in Malay culture such as Silat, Malay cuisine, games, medicines, arts and artifacts.

For more information on Limaspuri Melayu Johore, updates, events and promotion, go to the official website at www.limaspuri.com

In another occassion, please take a moment of silence to recite al-Fatihah for the late Dato Wan Abdullah bin Wan Ibrahim, CEO/Managing Director of UEM Sunrise who passed away on the last 26th February 2014, two weeks post his last umrah trip. Dato Wan had been on sick leave since last December 2013.

For anyone who has nothing better to do today, please be invited to Nusajaya Affordable House Pre Launching at SMK Gelang Patah. Check out the tentative at my previous post

UEM Sunrise Affordable House at Nusajaya, Johor

Following the good news we get earlier this month (refer here and here, UEM Sunrise is going to launch her affordable housing on March 1st, 2014. Quoted from The Star, UEM Sunrise's Dato Izzadin was saying that the house price would be between RM150,000 and RM200,000. The proposed housing is located within Iskandar Malaysia, specifically at Gerbang Nusajaya - a prospectful 4,500-acre (1,800ha) city of possibilities featuring various catalytic projects.

Gerbang Nusajaya or Nusajaya Gateway is planned to be the gateway to economic opportunities and a high quality of life. The project has to-date confirmed three international collaborations - 519 acres Nusajaya Tech Park with Ascendas Group, 295 acres FASTrack Iskandar with FASTrack Autosports Pte Ltd, and 1.4-million sq ft mall Asian Trade Centre with Chinamall Holdings Pte Ltd. To learn more about future development at Gerbang Nusajaya, visit Nusajaya City official website at www.nusajayacity.com although I doubt if they ever updated the site.



The project pre-launching ceremony will be held at SK Gelang Patah on March 1st, 2014. Registration booth will be opened from 10:00 to 16:30, and all prospective owners are invited to the ceremony, for registration of interest or inquiries. A lot of activities also will be held for Johorean family, and Johor Menteri Besar Dato Khaled Nordin is scheduled to be there too.

For more information on the event, see the poster. Don't forget to invite all your friend and relatives.


I will be there too.

How is the MRT Project Going to Affect the Overall Property Market?

by Mr. Wan Choy Heng Resident Manager / Registered Estate Agent

The construction of the much anticipated Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) has finally started. Described as the single most expensive infra structure project ever in this country, the MRT project which consist of 3 lines cutting across the entire Klang Valley or The Greater KL, is estimated to cost about RM36.6 billions to build, excluding land cost and rolling stocks.

The first line of the MRT project runs from Sungai Buloh to Kajang (SBK Line) stretches about 51 km with 31 stations is expected to be completed by 2017. Once completed and fully integrated with the existing KTM, LRT, Monorail, KL Rapid bus and the respective feeder bus services, the MRT will have tremendous positive impacts on the value of property located along its route and in the vicinity of its stations, with the exception of a few negative attributes.

A senior local property consultant from an established property firm here, who is also a member of the Board of Valuers, Appraisals and Estate Agents, Malaysia recently said that value of property along the MRT route will appreciate 15% to 25% depending on the location to the stations. While I’m but sure about the quantum of the appreciation, I’m certainly concur that the appreciation of value for property located in the vicinity of MRT route and its stations is certain to happen. This has happened to LRT Putra Line and Star Line extensions which construction is underway now. LRT Putra Line extension starts from Kelana jaya, passing through Subang Jaya, UEP Subang Jaya and ends at Putra Heights. Whilst LRT Star Line extends from Sri Petaling, passing through Bandar Kinrara, Puchong Jaya, Bandar Puteri and finally also ends at Putra Heights. 

Since its announcement in 2009, and with construction underway the property value along these 2 extension routes has appreciated tremendously. A basic double storey link house of 20’ x 60’ at USJ 6 was selling in the region of RM250k back in 2009 is now selling between RM400k to RM450k. A basic 3-bedroom apartment of about 900 sqft at Rhythm Avenue USJ19 was selling in the region of RM200k in 2009 is now selling between RM300k to RM330k. Both of these locations mentioned have a proposed LRT station, currently under construction, located within walking distance. Similar patterns of property value appreciation has also been reported at Bandar Kinrara and Puchong Jaya where proposed LRT stations for Star Line extension are to be constructed. Though the appreciation of property value at these areas mentioned is not entirely due to the coming of LRT extension, it is undoubtedly clear that the announcement of the final approval and the eventual sight of physical construction works of the proposed LRT extensions at these areas have inevitably led to the increase demand for property at these areas, hence this pushed up the property price. The construction of LRT extensions at these areas have brought about better accessibility to these locations, making property at these locations become more accessible and appealing to a bigger market, unlocking the value potential of property in these locations.

Running up to 2017 before the MRT-SBK Line is completed, more property developers will be planning high density residential developments along the MRT route. Projects which are strategically located near MRT stations will likely to enjoy good sell-out as buyers are confident of future demand for their property once the MRT is in operation. Proximity of any proposed condominium development in relation to a MRT station has been a major winning factor these days. New launches which are strategically located near to a MRT station will be expected to be priced at least 10% higher than others which are located further away. Residential developments within walking distance to MRT stations will undoubtedly benefit the most as the demand for rental units at these areas will be guaranteed. Most working class commuters would like to have their rental housing within walking distance to MRT stations as first priority. 

Comes 2017 when the MRT-SBK Line is finally completed, the commercial property in the vicinity of MRT stations will be in great demand. The huge number of passengers using MRT will give rise to plenty of new business opportunities of all kinds in the vicinity of MRT stations. This has proven true in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Commercial and retail premises which are located near MRT stations at these countries enjoy good occupancy rates and high rental. The same scenario will likely to repeat here in KL.

Latest News on Affordable Properties in Nusajaya

I received this good news from The Star today. Go to this link or just read the following news.


UEM Sunrise, KLK in RM20Bil Joint Iskandar Venture

BY JOHN LOH

KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Sunrise Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) are pooling their resources to develop 3,000 acres of each other’s landbank in Johor’s Iskandar Malaysia with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM20bil. This marks plantation giant KLK’s maiden foray as a property developer in Iskandar Malaysia, but it is the second such project for the company’s chief executive officer, Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian. Lee had teamed up with tycoons Tan Sri Surin Upatkoon, Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah and Singaporean magnate Wee Ee Chao in January last year to buy a 44-acre plot in Puteri Harbour from UEM Sunrise for RM401mil via Liberty Bridge Sdn Bhd. The deals inked yesterday involve UEM Sunrise’s land in Gerbang Nusajaya and KLK’s vast plantation estate north of Iskandar Malaysia in Kulai, both of which are freehold. KLK is to lead the development in Gerbang Nusajaya under a 60:40 joint venture (JV) called Scope Energy Sdn Bhd with UEM Sunrise, while’s KLK’s Kulai land, dubbed Fraser Metropolis, will be managed by Aura Muhibah Sdn Bhd, a 60:40 unit of UEM Sunrise and KLK, both companies said in filings with the stock exchange. The Gerbang Nusajaya project, measuring 500 acres, is worth some RM5bil. The much larger 2,500-acre Fraser Metropolis is expected to generate a GDV of RM15bil. Both parties have agreed to develop phase 1 of Fraser Metropolis using half of its 5,000-acre landbank, although KLK has granted Aura Muhibah the option to acquire a further 500 acres there. 

UEM Sunrise and KLK are planning a mixed development for Fraser Metropolis, which has been earmarked to be the next residential, commercial and industrial hub in the northern tip of Iskandar Malaysia and 30 minutes drive from Johor Baru.

Similarly, the Gerbang Nusajaya project is poised to be mixed-use. The land titles for the respective plots will be parked under the JV companies. UEM Sunrise told Bursa Malaysia that it expected to book RM380mil in land sale gains from paring down its stake in Gerbang Nusajaya. KLK will also see a net gain on disposal of RM816.8mil from the Fraser Metropolis land. Notably, UEM Sunrise and KLK are to exchange their land at the same price tag of RM871.2mil, but the parcels in Gerbang Nusajaya were valued at a higher RM40 per sq ft versus Fraser Metropolis’s RM8 per sq ft. This was to compensate for the existing infrastructure in Gerbang Nusajaya, RHB Research Institute analyst Loong Kok Wen told StarBizWeek. UEM Sunrise executive director Datuk Izzaddin Idris told the media at a briefing that the properties were scheduled to be launched in the second half of next year, targeting Malaysian as well as foreign buyers. Loong believes the JV is a win-win for both parties because it would allow KLK to unlock value from its massive plantation landbank, while giving the latter’s property arm a reputable partner in UEM Sunrise, the master developer of Iskandar Malaysia’s Nusajaya. The collaboration would also help UEM Sunrise spread out the risk in Gerbang Nusajaya, which was too huge for the company to complete on its own, a PublicInvest Research analyst said. 

But demand for the properties may be hard to gauge as the market is going through a soft patch due to the various cooling measures, according to the analyst. Work on Fraser Metropolis is scheduled to start in 2017 and be staggered over 15 years. The project in Gerbang Nusajaya, also slated to begin in 2017, has an eight-year timeframe. Separately, Izzaddin said UEM Sunrise planned to roll-out affordable homes in Gerbang Nusajaya next month priced at between RM150,000 and RM200,000. The group was aiming for sales of RM3bil this year, but Izzaddin noted that it was “conscious of market conditions.” Some 5,000 acres out of UEM Sunrise’s 11,000-acre landbank in Nusajaya had yet to be developed, he added.

Check out the quote that I bold. A new affordable housing will be launched next month.

Now lets wait for the next good news.

Bumbung, Malay Traditional Roof

Anthropologically speaking, Malay is a collective term of indigenous peoples of South East Asia that share similar language, custom and tradition. The Malay population is extended from Madagascar to the Pacific, but the main dwelling place of Malay peoples are at the two lands that are separated by the world longest straits, Malacca - Indonesia's Sumatra Island and Malaysia Peninsular. Malay traditional houses can be distinguished by the design of their roof or 'bumbung.' Many modern building in South East Asia still maintain the unique bumbung design on top of their roof to incorporate the local identity to their building.

The Malay house's bumbung are generally triangular shaped saddle roof to suit the tropical hot and wet weather of South East Asia. It can be divided into four common group based on the mutual shape:

1. Bumbung Panjang (Saddle/Open Gable Roof)
2. Bumbung Perabung Lima (Hip/Pavilion Roof)
3. Bumbung Limas or Bumbung Melayu
4. Bumbung Lentik (Curved Roof)

Bumbung Panjang

This bumbung is the simplest and the most common roof especially for the Pesisir (Coastal) Malay houses. There are a lot of name that are referring to the same or similar bumbung such as Belah Bubung/Bumbung (Folded Roof), Bumbung Lipat (also means Folded Roof) and Bumbung Perabung Panjang/Melintang (Long Saddle Roof). Rumah Air, Rumah Tiang Dua Belas, Rumah Melaka, Rumah Serambi, Rumah Serambi Gajah Menyusu and Rumah Kutai are variants of Malay House that use this bumbung. This bumbung has three common variant.

Lipat Kajang - Kajang means shelter in Malay. The roof has a gradual slopes for basic shelter from weather, and is the most popular roof among the Coastal Malay's common and water houses. Bumbung Lipat Kajang can be spotted at all traditional Malay villages from Acheh, Riau, Malacca, Kedah-Siam, Pahang, Pontianak, Brunei to as far as Philippines.

Lipat Pandan - This roof is named after a Malay wafer-like cuisine, Lipat Pandan. The roof has a steeper slope compare to Lipat Kajang to allow more space for the attic floor, and also popular to the coastal Malay. This bumbung is also used by the inland Malay and indigenous Malay subethnics like Nias islanders house, original Dayak long house, Marga Batin house (Kajang Leko) and some Batak houses where all family members or even villagers are living together under one roof. The term Kajang in Kajang Leko house is rather a functional term and not architectural term, meaning shelter.

Atap Layar - Also known as Bumbung Layar, Bumbung Panjang Berlapis, Ampar Labu or Atap Bersayap is a Lipat variant that is bended out halfway to its bottom. The bumbung is a combination of Lipat Pandan and Lipat Kajang, and is also a popular choice among the traditional Malay houses. Banjar's Banjung house and Terengganu house, and are examples for the use of this type of bumbung, but the former has a significant steep and gradual roof combination.


Bumbung Perabung Lima

Perabung Lima can be identified by the additional four saddles (Perabung Tepi) attached to it's main ridge (Perabung Tunjang). This bumbung is also known as Perabung Bungkus (All-Covered Roof) and can be seen at Southern Sumatra, Pattani-Kelantan-Besut, Singora, Siam and Java Islands including Lombok, Madura and Bali.

Bengkulu House roof is a variant of Perabung Lima that looks like a Banjung version of Perabung Lima roof. This design is influenced by Indian's Dravidian architecture to reflect the shape of a traditional Hindu's temple and also quite popular in many part of Java Islands.

This bumbung has a very broad variants. Another popular modification is Perabung Empat (Pyramid Roof) where the main ridge is erased from the design. This design is mainly used for traditional Mosque and Surau but also applied by residents in Java Islands. At Istana Kenangan  in Perak the roof is hexagonal.


Bumbung Limas

Bumbung Limas is a blend of Perabung Lima with Bumbung Panjang. Limas has the shape like the Dutch Gable Roof. The term Limas is derived from "Perabung Lima Emas" or Golden Perabung Lima. This roof is unique to the Malay peoples at the former territories of the Old Johore Sultanate (The last Srivijayan Kingdom) like Selangor, Pahang, Palembang, Jambi, Riau-Lingga and Singapore, and due to its exclusivity to Johore Malay people, Limas are also known as Bumbung Melayu (Malay Roof).


Bumbung Lentik

This variant is unique to the inland Malay from the rural part of the land. This bumbung was originated from Ranah Minang of West Sumatra. It is called Bumbung Kabau/Kerbau (Buffalo Roof) due to its buffalo horns motive. This bumbung is the traditional roof for Minang peoples and their subethnic and relatives like Rao/Rawa, Siak, Kampar, Mandailing, Batak, and Negeri Sembilan, and very popular at Ranah Minangkabau (West Sumatra), Bataklanden (North Sumatra), Inland Riau and Western Peninsular. At Riau, Bumbung Lentik is also known as Bumbung Lanchang (Ship Roof).

Toraja's Tongkonan roof at rural area in East Sulawesi is the gambrel version of the bumbung lentik. It also have the same Buffalo motive like Minang house but with unique two slopes on each side. Tongkonan roof is by far the rarest roof in the whole Alam Melayu (Malay Archipelago).

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Update: I had upload the pictures. Please go to this link.
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