Dialogue session with the owners

The response to this dialogue session was quite encouraging. They probably turned up to hear what this JMB is all about. My chairman spoke at length in Chinese about the many issues that we are facing at Prima . Most of the isssues raised were pertaining to the accounts. He also spoke about how we had been ignored by the developer. He was also unhappy over the appointment of a new management company although he pointed out I had written an objection letter to the developer before the appointment. He just mentioned " fat chang siong tong goh te moi tou" I shall leave it to your imagination to interpret the cantonese saying.

After the speech in Chinese , it was my turn to address the crowd in English. I spoke mainly about how this JMB came about and why this JMB is so important to us. I told them that this JMB gives us the legal rights to manage our own properties. I told them that the developer shall give a written notice of the first meeting to all the purchasers not less than 14 days before the meeting. On the day of the meeting, the first thing that we are going to do is to elect from 5-12 committee members to form the JMC ( Joint Management Committee) . On the day, we shall also determine the amount of maintenance fees that we have to contribute to the Building Maintenance Fund. We shall also have to pass some resolutions to adopt the deed of covenant and to amend whatever rules in it which are against our interests. For example, why should we pay RM 40.00 for a damaged card when the cost of a card is less than RM 10.00. We can accept it if the management charges RM 30.00 for a lost card to serve as a deterrent. I also told them that one month from the establishment of the JMB , the developer must transfer any surplus moneys in the Building Maintenance Account to the Building Maintenance Fund which shall be controlled by the JMB and that is us. This must be excuted by the developer not later than one month from the establishment of the JMB. This is the most significant part of the Act simply because without controlling the account we cannot control anybody.


I also told the owners that the JMC is not going to manage the properties themselves but to appoint a licensed management agent at our terms and conditions. Any company appointed need to perform and not profit oriented. They have to be pro-active, do not wait for complaints to come to you, their people at the office have to be owners friendly and more diplomatic and the most important of all the company has to be sincere in managing our properties. We want them to add values to our properties. No more dark corridors, dark and dirty car park, dirty lobbies, broken showers points, dirty corridors , dirty lifts , dirty toilets, dirty walls, dirty roads and bad security services. We want to be a five star condo. Cleanliness, beautiful landscaping , good security services and a pro-active management make a five star condo. I may be dreaming but my main ambition for Prima is towards achieving that.

I ended my speech by telling the owners that we have to be united. There shall not be a team A and team B. We shall all work together and share the same objective of protecting our own interests. Prima Setapak shall be managed with transparency and accountability.

Goodnight and have a nice day!