The developer of the [#1]Kota Kemuning housing project[/#] in Shah Alam has been accused of shoddy workmanship which could lead to the collapse of their newly built properties, a group of concerned home owners warned.

"The foundation is not strong enough and it seems that they just want to complete the job quickly. Not even proper piling was put into the ground. Instead of using concrete piling, they used wood piling which is cheaper," said 36-year-old Richard Wong.

He expressed doubt that the developer, Hicom-Gamuda, had done a proper soil survey.

"If they were really competent, they would have done a proper one," Wong added.

He also said that when the developer responded to the complaints, work done to rectify the problems was superficial.

Wong is one of the nine purchasers who aired their grouses at a press conference this morning complaining about the quality of houses they bought two years ago in Kota Kemuning.

Hicom-Gamuda is expected to handover the houses in Kota Kemuning this October.

Highland Towers

Most of the purchasers were first-time homeowners like 29-year old Chan May Leng who also claimed that the remedial work done to her house was too 'cosmetic'.

"The developers don't want to demolish the houses to rebuild them and corrections were cosmetic. The engineering consultants gave an assurance that the houses would be demolished but they didn't do it," Chan said.

According to the group, the project took two years to complete and they have already paid 65 percent of the purchase price.

They have also asked Hicom-Gamuda for a 35 percent discount on the purchase price as a compensation for the conditions of their houses.

Jacob George, a consumer advocate who was also at the press conference, said that the government had not been strict enough on developers and contractors.

"It is as if the government is treating these people with kid gloves. We thought there would have been a change of mindset since the December 1993 Highland Towers tragedy.

"Must there be loss of life before the politicians make their sandiwara (charade) responses?" George said.

The Highland Towers were luxury homes located in Kuala Lumpur which collapsed and caused the deaths of 46 people due to structural deficiencies.

According to him, 40 out of approximately 76 units in Kota Kemuning faced 'problems' prompting the purchasers to complain to the Housing and Local Government Ministry, local authorities and even the developer.

"Unfortunately we haven't had a response from the government yet. We would also be starting a signature campaign to highlight all these issues and we hope to obtain over 100,000," George said.

Cracks in units

However, Hicom-Gamuda's assistant-general manager John Yong told malaysiakini that any claims made by the purchasers have to be substantiated.

"The officers from the Housing and Local Government had already visited the site last week and we are constantly sending reports to the ministry," he said.

Conceding that there were structural problems with the houses, he stated that the problems had already been 'rectified'.

"At the end of last year, we discovered that there were cracks of varying degrees in the 40 units. So we stopped construction on these units and closed down the site for three months to rectify the problems," Yong said.

He told malaysiakini that even as the settlement of soil was initially 'soft', Hicom Gamuda had taken steps to fix the problem as they wished to ensure the safety of tenants.

"They initially used mangrove wood piling but we replaced it with concrete piling. The engineers we have are professional engineers but the soil sometimes is 'alive' and unpredictable," Yong said.

He added that the engineers had recommended using mangrove wood pilings and did not doubt the advice of the engineers unless proven otherwise.

Responsibility to ensure safety

He also said that the company has a responsibility to ensure the safety of the home buyers and has been transparent with the purchasers.

"A few months ago Hicom-Gamuda had called for a question-and-answer session with the purchasers and let them visit the site. According to Yong, purchasers who were unhappy could either have all they monies refunded or they would be given similar priced units in another housing project, also managed by Hicom-Gamuda.

He added that he would not accept the 35 percent discount option given by the purchasers.

"If I give them the 35 percent discount it would be unfair to the other buyers," he said.