Malaysian officials to take action on dodgy construction

The Malaysian government will take strict action against shoddy property development practices, warned Malaysian Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung. His comments were reported by Bernama news agency.

“The government will make it more difficult to be a licensed housing developer,” said Chor, following the launch of the building material and construction tradeshows Buildtech 2010 and MHX 2010 in Kuala Lumpur.

Development firms including directors will be blacklisted once they fail to deliver quality properties, said Chor. The government will also pursue original land owners and directors who hide behind nominee firms that have done poor-quality work or abandoned projects, he added.

The ministry receives almost 250 complaints every year from homebuyers, most of which are related to dodgy materials and construction. Chor hopes to reduce the complaints through the combined efforts of all members of the construction industry, including engineers, architects, supervisors, material suppliers, contractors, certifiers and tradesmen.