BY VINCENT TAN

THE buyers of the abandoned Block E Petaling Utama low-cost flats project in PJS 1 will finally get their homes – after a long 11-year wait.

The 276 affected people will get new units at the neighbouring Block F to be built by developer Peter Brickworks Sdn Bhd.

The Block E project was stalled due to a court-issued stop-work order with only piling works in progress then.

The buyers were housed at 27 longhouse units near the abandoned project, while still servicing their housing loans.

The decision to give the buyers housing at Block F was made in a Selangor state executive council meeting in June.

In a press conference at the State Secretariat Building in Shah Alam, Parti Sosialis Malaysia treasurer Sivarajan Arumugam said the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) had approved for Block F’s development plans which were 12 floors of 276 units, a surau, a hall, and seven shoplots.

Block E Housebuyers’ Action Committee chairman M. Sugumaran and a few housebuyers met with Mentri Besar Azmin Ali’s private secretary Datuk Mohamad Yasid Bidin to explain issues concerning the new Block F project.

Sugumaran said one of them included forwarding a revised list of housebuyers and other eligible residents, to the Selangor Housing and Property Board (LPHS).

The list, he said, was expected to be completed by end of this month and should be compared against the city council and developers’ name lists to ensure no one was left out, and that no outsiders could take advantage.

“It’s been 10 years since we signed the original sale and purchase agreement (S&P) for Block E. Some of the original buyers have died, others may need to ask their children to take on the mortgage instead,” added Sugumaran.

The housebuyers were also requesting a draft of the new S&P to be studied by their lawyer before signing it, he said, adding that the bank which offered them the housing loan should inform them on the status of their loan agreement and the interest involved.

“Many of the residents want to know whether they can cancel the previous loan, and whether they were still eligible as it has been many years,” said Sivarajan.

Sivarajan added that the residents should also be informed about the possibility of compensation for late delivery, as their housing problem had been ongoing since 2004.

Selangor Housing Committee chairman Datuk Iskandar Samad said there were many housing issues in the PJS areas, and that the state government was working to resolve them by dealing with each group separately.

“For the residents and the financial issues, this is something that we have to work with the bank to resolve,” said Iskandar.