Story by Chan Lilian
Pix by Shum Jian-Wei
UNTOLD hardship had befallen a large group of low income people who had bought units at Majestic Heights in Paya Terubong.
Buletin Mutiara had previously featured some of the buyers who were saddled with debts and housing loans to service when the project was abandoned.
However, a white knight in the form a developer willing to rehabilitate the project has come into the picture and now, the dream homes will become a reality. They are now a step closer when some of the buyers inked the deal at Komtar on Dec 15.
During a press conference attended by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, exco member for Housing and Town & Country Planning Jagdeep Singh Deo, some of the Majestic Heights Phase 2A buyers came with the developer PLB Sdn Bhd.
“The state government has facilitated the rehabilitation of Phase 2A of the abandoned Majestic Heights project involving 370 property owners, by successfully procuring PLB Sdn Bhd to agree to rehabilitate it. This project was abandoned since 1998,”Lim said.
After the announcement of the rescue project by PLB Sdn Bhd in April this year, the white knight company has now finalised the construction agreement which is to be executed by the purchasers and PLB KH Bina Sdn Bhd.
The total cost involved to revive the abandoned phase 2A of Majestic Heights stands at RM17 million.
Further, after successful negotiation between the state government and the company, the company has agreed to extend the defect liability period from 3 months to 12 months.
Under the said construction agreement, the company has agreed to proceed with the rehabilitation works after a minimum number of 220 purchasers execute the said agreement.
The execution of the agreement between the company and the purchasers, which began on Dec 10, has to date seen 127 purchasers executing the said agreement.
Lim urged the remaining purchasers to come forward and execute the said agreement so that the project can take off.
“The Penang state government views seriously the plight of those purchasers who have become victims of abandoned housing projects and will facilitate to the best of its ability the rehabilitation of such projects in the interest of the victimised purchasers,” Lim added.
It was smiles all around when one of the purchasers’ representatives, Neoh Hong Lee, 56, signed the agreement dressed in a red T-shirt with the letter “E”.
The purchasers had been united in fighting for their project and they wear the red T-shirts bearing the alphabets that make up MAJESTIC 2A.