Dialogue session with the residents on the 26th April 2007 ( WITHOUT PREJUDICE )


What a night! What an unforgetful night! The hall was packed and some had to stand outside the hall. Looking at the crowd, I have to admit that I was a little nervous. I started by telling the owners that this is a dialogue session and not a meeting. We are not here to make any decisions but to explain and clear whatever doubts they have over the implementation of the card access. Before I could finish, someone tried to interrupt. They wanted me to speak in Chinese. I told them that I would finish off in English and my secretary would try to explain in Chinese. I could see that a few of the owners were unhappy. I told them how the whole thing started. I told them why there was a different between the estimated cost which I told them and the real cost incurred. Mr David Khor, the GM of UOA was able to convince the committee ( a lawyer, a M&E engineer, an executive and some businessmen ) but I was not able to convince some of the owners. I am not in the same class as Mr David.

Before the R.A's secretary could finish explaining in Chinese, bullets started raining down on me. They put me in a defensive position. A few of them had come well armed with questions which I had no answers or in the position to reply. They were out to draw blood. They would not listen to any explanations. They would only look at the negative aspects of the implementation. To them, it's a waste of fund, it will not prevent any break-ins, it's a burden to them , they want a fool proof system and they wanted to be told the exact cost before Dats could start work. Perhaps , we have different perceptions. Dats Management felt that they could start work upon receiving the 60% consensus and some owners felt that they have to be told the exact cost. I told them that I put up the quotations on the notice board for two weeks. They claimed that they did not read them. What could I say? One lady was quite irrational in her argument. She wanted the committee to recommend a company to UOA which can do it with a lower cost. She wanted the committee to instruct UOA to stop whatever payments made to the current company. This is the most ridiculous suggestion that I ever heard. She must be thinking that The R.A. is managing Prima Setapak. I was speechless. She came up with so many ifs. What if her children knock into the glass? What if there is a fire? What if she was caught in the lift? She further claimed that the door is too small. I have no answers to all her ifs. The sundry shop owner was offended when I questioned his status at Prima. I apologized to him for doing that. I sincerely do not wish to embarrass him for claimming to own two units of the condos at Prima. I do not want to expose him. Should there be another dialogue session, I would not be so accommodating. He had no business to be there. If he has any grievances, he should bring them up with the management and not the Owners' Association.

One gentleman came up with a logical solution. He would try to get an independent consultant to look into the cost. I gave him a copy of the quotation. Our main concern is the cost. If it is justified, we have to accept it. If it is way above the market price, then we would definitely lodge a protest with UOA. At this stage, what's done cannot be undone anymore. You can get a court injunction to stop the project if you are willing to go that far. But, who will be the loser? We are. The developer will just use the money contributed by us to remove the injunction because under the Strata Title Act, they have the right to so. I told the crowd that my conscience is very clear. I am not a 10% man. I can accept all the attacks directed at me. I volunteer to accept this job. The worst scenario that I am looking at is to step down and pave the way for someone who can do a better job than me.

Another confident lady orator asked why the developer has the right to use RM 300 000 without getting our approval. I would like to advise her to direct the question to the Land and Mines deparment. Don't blame the owners, don't blame the developer but blame the goverment. The Strata Title Act is very clear, for any condos of which the strata titles have not being issued, the developer has the full authority to manage the condos. The goverment gives them this right. Some developers go for transparency but some treat the condos as their cash cows. In our case, UOA was willing to explain to us in details the full cost of the implementation. Majority of the committee were convinced but regretted to say that I was not able to convince some of the owners. There are 750 owners living at our condo. I don't expect them to think alike. I just hope that the majority are with me. As I have told you, I am not in the same class as Mr David, a very good orator with facts and figures.


I was quite angry with a committee member who tendered his resignation abruptly. In his letter , he told me that he resigned because he disagreed with the way the issue was handled. He was not happy because I did not put in enough effort to stop the project. Who am I to instruct UOA to stop work??? He was absent in many committee meetings. He was absent when the committee agreed to carry out a signature campaign . He was absent when we had the first dialogue session with the residents. He was absent when we had a meeting with UOA. Where is his responsibility as a committee member? I was not angry with him because he resigned. I was angry because he turned to the floor to direct his personal attack against me. I am not a gentleman if I point a finger at the committee should I sit at the floor as an ex-chairman.

I wish to see this thing through. I would not chicken out. I would be seen as a coward if I resign. The upgraded security system is not a total failure yet. It has not even being implemented. Give it a chance to work. My fate lies with the members in the next A.G.M. If they decide to remove me, I would leave gracefully. To me, this is a learning process. I wonder how many of the owners have ever heard of the Building and Common Property Act 2006 and how the new Act will affect us. I really wish to remain to work with the developer to enforce the Bill. I understand how it works because I have read the whole Bill. To tell the truth, if we are not properly organized, the winner will be the developer. This Bill gives us the full authority to manage our own condos ( of which the strata titles have not being issued ) but I am doubtful it will work if we are not united. To tell the truth, it will be years before we shall get our strata titles. We have to stand united to put pressure on the developer to convene the first meeting to set up the Prima Setapak Joint Management Body ( PSJMB ). Joint means together with the developer to manage our condo. The implication of the Bill is great. The Bill gives us the legal rights to decide ( the amount of maintenance fees, the rules and regulations and anything ) on what we want for Prima. The Bill will be gazetted soon.


Back to the card access. I wonder whether things would have been different if I had told the owners in the first dialogue session that the total cost of the card access implementation is in the range of RM 200 000 to RM 300 000 . I told them the estimated cost is RM 200 000. Should I had used the right highlighted word, I strongly believe that issue on cost would not have arised. Just imagine what the power of the right word used can do. People can capitalize and misinterpret on just one word used. I guess, my greatest mistake is not getting the right information. I am learning something new every day. To quote Datul Ong Ka Ting, education is a lifelong process.

What I wrote in this blog is my personal view. It does not reflect the view of the committee. Thousand apologies should I have offended anyone in this blog.

It's 12.25 a.m. now. Good morning and have a nice day!

Meeting with the owners

In our committee held on 16th April, we had decided to hold a dialogue session with the owners. The committee felt that we need to explain to the owners the details of the new security system . We need to address the owners' main concerns over the cost and its effectiveness. We wish to clear whatever doubts that some of us still have in order for the system to implemented smoothly.

I think the pressure is now on me. I need to convince those who oppose for the sake of opposing. I shall try my best. My conscience is clear. I have no hidden agendas. I have no personal interest. I am not a ten percent man. I was elected by the members. If I have failed in my duty as the chairman, they can always vote me down. I shall leave it to the owners to judge me. I can tell you deep in my heart, I want the best for our condo.

The dialogue session will be held on 26th April at 8.30 p.m.


Thank you and have a nice day!

Meeting with Dats Management.

The meeting with Dats Management was carried out in a friendly atmosphere. Mr David Khor , a UOA's manager gave a lengthy explanation with regards to cost and effectiveness of the card system. The whole committee who attended the meeting were convinced. Many questions were asked. There were no conflicting views. There were no disputes There were no Team A and Team B. There were no arguments. There were many handshakes around. Everyone left the meeting happily

It's all system go now. We shall be looking forward to the full implementation of the system.

Thank you and have a nice day!

Committe meeting on the 12th April2007

This was a very lively meeting. The meeting started at 8.30 p.m. and ended at 12.00 midnight. This was the longest meeting that we ever had. Voices were raised. Many things were said. Many things were suggested. Many proposals were made. In the end , through a unanimous decision, the committee decided to go back to the residents ( owners ) for a decision. I think this is a fair decision in order to avoid a split in the Association. Some committee members mentioned that there was no transparency in the manner the project was implemented. The owners were not told the real cost when the signature was carried out. I explained to the committee that at the time when the signature campaign was carried out, Dats Management was in the process of carrying a tender exercise. Some commitee members commented that the system is not effective at all. They proposed that we should cut loss and replace it with a system which is similar to the LRT Station. They claimed that this system is maintenance free. They further claimed that the card access will eat into our management fund. The maintenance cost for the system is only RM 9 000 per year and works out to be RM 750 00 per month. Our monthly collection is about RM 90 000 per month. This line of argument does not make sense at all. What ever system that we use, there shall be some weaknesses. Nothing is fool proof.

In order to address the residents' concerns , a meeting will be held ( yet to decide on the date but it will be a Sunday ) to decide whether to abandon the card access system or to implement it. The total cost will be made known to all. I guess a vote by show of hands will be carried out. The committee will be presenting their views and those present will be allowed to present their views too. There will be no debate. We just listen and make our own evaluations and make a decision to go for it or against it. So, all those out there who want the card access system to implemented, you better sacrifice a little of your precious time to turn up. Failing which, the implementation of the card access system could be scrapped and RM 150 000 of our fund could go down the drain. Actually, the project is 90% completed. I am the chairman and I should know because I get the first hand info.

Come tomorrow, we will be having a meeting with Dats Management. We will be told the real cost. I shall take this opportunity to raise some other issues with them. One of them will concern the security, the gymn and others. I shall leave the decision to the residents ( owners ) and will definitely abide by it.

Good night and have a nice day.

The frames for the tempered glass door. Who is going to pay for all these if the project is cancelled?

Split in the Association

A few committe members had expressed their reservations over the implementation of the card access. They had proposed to put the project on hold pending the finalization of the total cost of the whole project. They bulldozed through their proposal through a committee meeting dominated by most of their members. I had no choice but to write a letter to request Dats Management to put the project on hold, failing which they may accuse me of not abiding by the resolution passed by the committee although I have the veto power which I would not like to exercise. All these problems came at the time when all the CCTV have been installed and work on the card access was half way through. The frames for the glass doors had been installed. Their main contentions were that the total cost was not made known to the residents and the effectiveness of the system is in question. Rumours were going round that the cost went up from RM200 000 to RM300 000. I was also told through one SMS from one of the few committee members that one resident alleged that the R.A. collaborated with Dats Managemnt to misuse the sinking fund. Who started all these if not for the disgruntled few.

To counter any unfounded allegations, I put up some letters and minutes of the committee meeting on the notice board. The letter addressed to the community by Dats Management stated very clearly that they would only go ahead with the project if the R.A. managed to obtain 60% of the owners to agree to it. I managed to get about 300 signatures and the management about 200 signatures. They carried out the tender exercise. They appointed the company and they are the paymaster. At the time when we carried out the signature campaign and the dialogue session, the total cost was not known yet. I told the residents the estimated cost is about RM 200 000. based on the information I received from Dats. Dats Managemnet is responsible for all aspects of the implementation.

Dats Management is transparent enough to give me a copy of the quotations submitted by two companies. I put them up on the notice board. I did not receive a single call from the residents to inquire about the cost until this crisis started. Throughout the crisis, I received only one call from an owner who alleged that it's illegal to use the sinking fund. This is really a big joke. This one call caused me to lose RM 150.00 because I was caught by the traffic police for using the mobile phone while driving. I was so furious and I wondered who was behind all these unfounded claims. All proposals to Dats management were the results of a collective decision by the committee. That is why sometimes I can be outvoted if some of the committee members were not present at a committee meeting. One example is the decision to make a request to the management to put the project on hold although I was against it.

The request letter to put the project on hold was sent out. I told some committee members that this is a request letter. The final decision still lies with Dats. I told them I don't call the shot here.
Some committee members were not happy so they carried out a signature campaign on 7th April to stop the project without the sanction of the R.A. I did not know how many signatures they managed to obtain or whatever reasons they told the residents for their actions because I was away.

Due to some calls made by some residents who did not know the details, Dats management had decided to put the project on hold pending a meeting with committee on 14th April. I really don't
know the fate of the project. But, one thing for sure if the whole project is scrapped , Dats and The R.A. are answerable to the 60% of the owners who had given their consents. They also have to make good the payments for all the equipments that have been purchased by the appointed company. The losers will be the residents and it would also cause an unnaccessary loss in our sinking fund. Dats management would definitely use our sinking fund to pay for whatever cost already incurred. I don't understand why the disgruntled few had never thought of this. I think our condo has one of the highest rate of break-ins in K.L. Last month itself, 3 break-ins occured at Block B in a single day. Despite all the allegations, I still believe that the card access is able to minimize or prevent the break-ins at Prima. All the break-ins occur during the quite period and this is when the card access comes into play. Residents can start calling Dats Management at 03-21649064 to voice their concerns over the possibility of the project being scrapped.

I told myself if the whole project is scrapped, I may resign as the chairman of the R.A. which I formed. I feel that I have failed the residents of Prima. The day when I resign will be the saddest day in my life. I can do so much more for Prima. I want Prima to be a garden condo because I am a nature lover. But, when you have a team A and team B at a condo, things can never get done. One has to give way. The winner will the management company. This is a voluntary job and I think someone can do a better job than me.

Thank you and have a nice day!