Pets in the house.

Base on the deeds of covenant that we sign with the developer, one of the clauses states that we are not allowed to keep any pets in the house. Your pets can become a nuisance to your neighbours. The sound of barking can keep us awake all night. I guess we have to be sensitive to our neighbours in order to maintain the harmonious atmosphere in our condo. You can inform the security if you think you are affected by residents who are keeping pets in their houses. You can rest assured that all complaints are confidential.

Have a nice day!

SECURITY

I am little concerned over the security situation at Prima. I was having a discussion with the chief of security over the matter. I pointed out to him that outsiders can walk in and out of Prima easily. You just have to look a bit decent and you would be able to walk into Prima without anyone stopping you. That is the reason why we find so many flyers in our letter boxes every day. It goes to show that the security has been breached. That's also may be the reason why break-ins are still happening. I told him that these break-ins have not led to any tragedies yet. I told him to take some preventive measures before it's too late.

Guards on duty at the guard house should be more alert . That's the point of entry. I have been observing them . I noticed that these guards hardly stop anybody who walks into Prima. The intruders have taken the guards for granted. I told the chief that the guards have the authority to question anybody who walks into Prima. You just have to open your mouth. I hope the owners would not take offence to it should they are stopped. The guards should also be stationed outside the guardhouse. They should be able to monitor the situation better if they are outside the guardhouse. It serves as a deterrent too.

I just hope that the security services can be improved because it is one of residents' main concerns. In the meantime, we have to be more alert. See that your house is properly locked. If you are going away for long holidays, don't hesitate to inform the security.

Have a nice day!

Request for table tennis tables.

I didn't check on my blog for a quite a while. The number of comments remain the same. I paid a visit to Prima Plaza which is a new project undertaken by UOA. UOA must have a lot of clouts to get this project approved. Everyone can see that a condominium is not suitable to be built on such a small area. It will definitely lead to congestions and other social problems. Our area here is beginning to look like a little Hatyaai where everything is close together. Somebody must have done something to keep the DBKL's eyes blinded and their ears shut.

I met an acquaintance who is a property manager from UOA . She is actually in charge of the management of Prima. I asked her why the car park at Prima Plaza was smoothly paved. She told me that UOA is slowly making improvements to their project. I was thinking how something like the car park can enhance the value of the building. The only reason I can think of is that the developer is trying to cut cost and maximised their profit margin. I told her about the table tennis tables which we would like to request. She said no problem. Anyway, I drafted an official letter to make a request for table tennis tables and to replace the broken bikes in the gymn. In the letter , I also reiterated that the increase in the maintenance fes should be justified by improvements in the services rendered.

Hopefully, we would get our table tennis tables and some new bikes for the gymn. Good night. Have a nice day!

Online community created by Ronald

Ronald who is from Block A had created an online community for the residents of Prima Setapak. He must be very computer savvy to do it. I think he must be in the I.T. line. I don't really know whether the residents are ready for it. Many of them would not know what an online community is. I just joined as a user.

Anyway, I shall try to assist him to encourage the residents to join as users. It is free. The residents can use it to present their views pertaining to Prima. You can even use it if you want to rent out your property or you may want to rent out a room. You may even inform the residents if you want to invite them to a grand party you hosting.

Before you can participate as a user, there are couple of things that you have to do. I shall list out the steps that require your attention.

1. Visit the site - ( phpbb88.com/primasetapak/ )

2. Register as a user ( click on 'register'

3. Fill in the blanks - a) your user name

b) your e-mail address

c ) your password

4. Before you start activation, check the reply in your e-mail.

5. Last step- Log in with your username and password.

I really appreciate what Ronald has done for prima. Thank you Ronald.

Committee meeting

A committee meeting attended by eight committee members was held last night at the multi-purpose hall. Several matters were discussed and one of which was the date on our 2nd A.G.M. It was decided that the 2nd AGM will be held on 28th May 2006 which is a Sunday.

Another issue which was brought was the speed breakers placed at block A. The committee agreed that the breakers are not suitable because it may cause damages to the suspension of our cars unless everyone is driving a Mercedes. I spoke to the supervisor of the management. He agreed that the breakers are not suitable. His request was to build a pre-mix humps. He will look into the matter and get it rectified.

Another matter which was discussed was the installation of cctv. Several views were presented by the committee members. But, all of us feel that if we want a cctv system to be installed, we have to insure that the system is a good one. Since we would not get that kind of assurance from the developer, it's best that we wait until we have management control before we make any decision regarding the cctv. As the cost incurred will be high, they will be tempted to use the sinking fund and we do not want them to touch the sinking fund for the simple reason of transparency . I hope the residents would bear with us for a while. You would definitely see many changes once we are independent. So, just look forward to our independent day.

We would also make a request to the management to purchase table tennis tables to be placed in the muti-purpose hall.

See you at the AGM and don't forget to renew your membership. Have a nice day!

More notices.

Glad to know that the residents of Prima are responding to the blog. Put up a few more notices at level 2 after getting a positive feedback from one of the commentators. Hope to reach out to more residents in order to get more feedback. I wonder whether there are any residents at Prima who are ignorant enough not to want to know anything about the place they live in. I really hope not.

Eve is one of the regular commentators of this blog. I guess she represents the people of the younger generations. Young, beautiful , fortunate , energetic, adventurous, inquisitive and full of life. Sad to know that most of the tarcians do not know what a blog is. I thought they are suppose to be computer savvy. We, old men are struggling every day to catch up with new technology and new gadgets. Maybe, you can assist me to keep them informed of this blog by inserting flyers into their letter boxes.

Can anyone out there enlighten me if there are any such blogs in other condos. I wish to know the conditions of their buildings, the issues that affect them and how efficient their management is. At least we can make a comparison.

Please be informed that I don't remove any comments from this blog. I want the residents to read the comments too.

Have a nice day. Bye...........

Committee meeting

How nice is it to know that tomorrow is a public holiday. Finally, I found the inspiration to call for a committee meeting. I have to come out with the agendas for the meeting. I guess. one of them will be to set the date for our 2nd A.G.M. which I think every member is looking forward to. I will also like to propose to the committee to purchase a wireless p.a. system which is quite expensive. I just wish the committee would agree to it so that I would not get a sore throat after the A.G.M. I have to face the members again and I really don't know what issues they would bring up this time. Anyway, this is a voluntary job and I really have no regrets over it.

There are about five guards who are from Nepal. These guards who are also known as gurkhas are wellknown for their bravery, loyalty and deligence. I don't bear any grudges against them. They may be very brave when they are at war. But, we are not at war here. They are here to enforce the rules at Prima. To enforce the rules here , we need to communicate with the residents. If they can't communicate, how are they going to enforce the rules. I wonder whether the management has given any thoughts to the matter. I have observed them. I personally feel that they are not suitable to be guards at Prima. Any comments out there?

The AGM will definitely be held in May. For the existing members, I hope they can spare a little of their time to attend the meeting. Oh yes, do not forget to renew your membership. It's only twenty ringgit. For other owners who are not members , you are free to join as members. If you are not interested, you may attend the meeting as observers. We are not an exclusive club anyway.

That's all for the night. Enjoy your holidays.

Comments on the Comments

I'm happy to note that there are quite a number of comments on the security. It shows that there are residents responding to my blogs. I am getting some constructive feedbacks too.

The cctv that were placed in the lifts are for show only. I believed that they were placed there to deter some of the senseless residents from vandalizing the lifts. Now that the acts of vandalism are negligible, they had been taken off.

A resident proposed that we introduced the access cards for all the residents to enter Prima. I don't think it is feasible for Prima although the idea is a very good one. In the first place, density of tenants for Prima is more than 50%. They move in and out and this may create logistic problems for the management. Secondly, due to the heavy movement of human traffic, congestion will definitely occur and the maintenance of the system will be cause a problem too. I think the card system is only suitable for low density condos whereby most of the units are owners occupied.

Regarding the congestion outside the condos, I agree that it poses a problem fo us . The honey from prima is attracting too many bees from outside. It has become a pick up point for them. I really don't have any ideas how to solve the problem. We can put up a barrier to stop the motorists from parking there. But then, it is a public road, can we do so? Any residents out there who have any ideas?

A resident commented that the guards are paid about RM2000.00 each. I had mentioned from my earlier blog that their real wages range from RM1,000 - RM 1500. The balance, I guess has become part of the so called professional fee for the developer.

I welcome any comments from the residents. Sometimes, we learn from the comments. At least we know whether the residents at prima are happy or not with their environment.

Thank you for the comments.

The security situation at Prima

The security services at Prima is provided by UOA's in- house security company. There are about fifteen guards deployed to look after Prima. Eight will be on the night duty and the rest will be on the day duty depending on how the arrangement is made by the management. The guards that we have here received a short training before they are posted to the sites. A background check has also been been done before they are employed. I noticed that the guards that we have here are always polite, friendly and helpful. They are not easily provoked. There was an incident whereby an irrational resident smashed up the window panes at the guard house. The guards just stood by and did nothing. They learned to be patient in whatever situation they are in. They made a police report. Eventually the culprit had to pay for his foolish deed. They also carried out enforcement without fear or favour. Our guards are pro-active, they do act without any complaints being made first.. A resident who forgot to wind up the window of his car was immediately informed by the security. I really have to commend the guards at Prima. Compare to other condos, we should consider ourseleves fortunate. One thing I like about our guards is that they are smartly dressed at all times .

Prima is a big place. There is a limit as to what the guards can do. They can't carry out patrolling non-stop for 24 hours a day. That is why breaks-in still occur at Prima. Stealing shoes are quite common. What we residents should do is to take some preventive steps. See that our maindoors are locked properly. Thieves at Prima usually break in by breaking the ear-loops at the grill. The best thing to do is use a good clamp at the grill. Inform the security if you are away for long holidays. You should also have the security's number with you at all times . Don't hesitate to call the security should you see any suspicious character along the corridor. Occasionally, we do have uninvited guests. We cannot blame the guards bacause the movement of human traffic is very heavy. Prima is located very close to the commercial centres. Residents tend to go out very often. Therefore it is very difficult for the guards to keep an eye on those people who walk in and out.

The problems that I mentioned can be minimized if we have cctv installed along all the corridors and the lift lobbies. Alas, we are not the management. To tell you the truth if we have management power, I can assure you that we would have the cctv installed in no time. We have the sufficient fund to do it. I can't promise anything. We would try to raise the issue with the management . See, we are the owners, we pay for everything and yet , we have to beg people to do something. Meanwhile, is there any cctv expert out there who can give us some comments with regards to the cost , the best system and effectiveness of installing the cctv.

Do not get unduly worried over the security situation at Prima. We are still very safe here.

That's all about security for the time being and good night.

Bees, bees and more bees

While I was watching tv, I noticed that bees were flying into my house. Big bees. I thought the bees attacking my house. I must have offended someone and he was putting a curse on me. So, I called the security and the chief told me that it happened to all the units at BlockA. What a relief, I was not the sole target.

The strange thing was that these bees were not the agressive type. They don't sting. They came here to die. There were thousands of them at the lift lobbies. The feng shui at prima must be good or else the bees would not come here to die. I hope nobody was stung by the bee.

That's all for the night. Don't get upset by the bee story.

An interesting comment by Evil

I went through her comment and found that it was quite interesting. She is a student. She mentioned that the owners at Prima resented them. I guess, this is a wrong perception. When you look around Prima, who are the ones who are enjoying the facilities at Prima. The tenants of course ,meaning that they enjoy the same rights as the owners here. Their movements have not been restricted.

We can live together in harmony. As tenants, you need to have a sense of belonging to Prima. You need to behave like the owners do. Do not treat this place like hostels. Most of the owners are working people. After a hard day work in the office, when they are home, they would like to seek peace and a quiet atmosphere. We know that the tenants are young and energetic. They tend to talk loudly along the corridor, in the lifts and as a matter of fact everywhere. They are also very passionate when they are in love. They hug each other everywhere. Sometimes, it can be quite embarrassing staring at the passionate young loving couple. The tenants also need very little sleep. They hardly sleep as matter of fact. So, when the owners are sleeping, the sound of dragging chairs, heavy footsteps and laughter may wake them up. Sometimes, when they get excited, they may run in the aparment. And some may even be bouncing balls in the apartment. All these may cause a little resentment against the tenants.

As for the owners, if you have problems with your neighbours who are tenants, I think the best approach that you should take is to talk to them. They may not be aware that they have caused a little inconvenience to you. Let them know that you respect them as tenants. We are not in the position to choose the kind of tenants we want for Prima. Therefore , whether you like it or not we have to live together. I am surrounded by tenants. For me , it's a blessing in disguise. My degree of tolerance has gone up. I have learnt to be more patient. I learned not be obsessive with noise. One think I learnt is that if you are too obsessive with noise, you tend to hear noises. Show some restraints and everything will be fine.

I am sure that this post would receive many comments from the tenants. As for the tenants , if you are in a way offended by this blog, I would like to apologize in anticipation.

Good night and have a nice day.

Budget for prima Setapak as reflected in the audited account.


I took a short break to breath some fresh air back in my hometown. Came back to check on my blog and found that there are a few comments on the mystery rape case. I just have to conclude that the story was not substantiated and a police report was not made. Lets not speculate and create fear among the residents here.

Pertaining to the comment on the sinking fund, I was told verbally by the management that the lease on our properties has been extended to 99 yrs. Since we have not received anything in black and white, I cannot confirm it. I guess, there should not be any problem regarding the matter since we would have to pay for the extension.

A budget for the mangement is very important because as owners for strata properties, we should know what we are paying for. I shall list out all the items below. The figures presented are not the actual figures but are close to the actual ones.

Expenses Per month

1. Management fee - RM 12,000

2. Security services- RM 32,000

3. Electricity supply - RM 21,000 ( fluctuate )

4. Cleaning services - RM 8,000

5. Admistration fee ( inclu wages for staff ) RM 14,000

6 Lift Maintenance - RM 8,000

7. Pool Maintenance - RM 1,500

8. Repair jobs - RM 5,000 ( fluctuate)

Total - RM 101,500

Revenue

Total collection of maintenance fees ( based on 100% ) - RM 100,000 ( Estimated )

Total collection of sinking fund - RM 19,500

I hope with the figures above, the residents would know how much we need to keep our buildings in proper condition. Therefore, if we want our buildings to be properly maintained, we must pay our maintenance fees.

Well, the next issue that I am going to write about will be the security situation at Prima.