Media statement by Edward Ewol Mujie in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday, 18^th June 2011:

Updating and amendment necessary for Enactment and Ordinance

The present ordinance and enactment affecting the housing industries and the building sectors is urgently needing updating and to be amended due to the changing requirement, environment and varying circumstances.

I was the Municipal Secretary of the then Kota Kinabalu Municipal Council (MPKK) and now the DBKK, and to my view that the many local government Enactments and Ordinances must be updated and amended according to the changing requirement. Three important documents needed the updating are the Local Government Ordinance 1961, the Town and Country Planning Ordinance (Sabah Cap.141) and the Land (Subsidiary Title) Enactment 1972 (Sabah No.9 of 1972).

The many complaints that the KK MP office received during the past are related to the many discrepancies involving the ordinance and enactment. This has created much difficulties and irregularities in the building sector involving the developers, the purchasers, owners, management corporation, the local authorities, councils, and DBKK especially.

These by-laws can not meet the present day requirement and very much outdated. Many rules and regulations can not be applied. For example, the simple case in the building by-law on the resident/car park ratio is already no longer correct due to the increasing cars owned by residents in a high rise apartment and complex. The building set back is another big problem nowadays. There are plenty of loop-holes that one can abuse and make advantage.

I remembered that there was a proposal submitted many years ago for an updating and amendment to the attention of the government, but this was shelved and kept in view. There was no further action until today. PAM Sabah Chapter had submitted their proposal and recommendation for the amendment. It is high time that the government would take action for the said proposal and not trying to pretend nothing is happening.

There are many complaints continue to flow into the KK MP office, and the KK MP Hiew King Cheu is taking note of these complaints and recording the various nature of the matters. The most complained issues received are on the management corporation of the common shared properties like condos, apartments and complexes. The developers sometimes made full advantage over the management based on non completion of the whole project. This is unfair for the residents and property owners, whereby they have no control over the properties that they purchased.

I demand the Sabah State government to immediate come up with a motion to amend all these outdated ordinance, by-laws, enactments and all related acts that is affecting the people. The State assembly must include these in their next sitting and the Chief Minister, the Minister of Local government and Housing must move this motion to prove that they are really concern about the well-being of the people. They should not waste any more time and should take advantage of the assembly sitting to discuss and study on this important issue, particularly for the social development and the well-being of the Rakyat. If they can't do this, that show they not capable and couldn't care about the people and the future of the state as a whole.

* Edward Ewol Mujie, DAP Sabah State Vice Chairman & Local Government and Housing Bureau Chief