The developer of the Kota Kemuning housing project today said the nine disgruntled purchasers who recently aired their complaints to the press were less concerned about the safety of their homes than the price discount they have been pressing for.

Hicom Gamuda's assistant-general manager John Yong said he became wary of the group of nine's intention when they kept raising the issue of the 35 percent discount as compensation for structural defects in their new houses.

"Are they trying to say that they are willing to compromise and risk their lives staying in those so-called dangerous houses if they are given a discount?" Yong told malaysiakini after a press conference at the company's office in Selangor.

He admitted to structural problems in the newly-built properties it developed but stressed that remedial measures have already been taken to rectify the situation.

He said the company never intended to "hide anything" from their customers as it took the initiative to alert them about the problem of cracks that appeared on the walls and ceilings. Half of some 80 units in Kota Kemuning were said to have this problem.

Last Thursday, owners of nine double-storey terraced houses in Kota Kemuning, Selangor, expressed fear that their new houses may collapse due to "shoddy workmanship", citing the 1993 Highland Towers tragedy which killed 46 people.

The group of nine, led by consumer advocate Dr Jacob George, demanded a 35 percent discount on the original purchase price of RM235,000. They also claimed that their complaints about this matter to the Housing and Local Government Ministry had been ignored.

Soft soil

However, Yong refuted their claim, saying that representatives from the ministry inspected the site in August and were satisfied with measures taken by the developer.

He said the company first detected cracks in some of the units late December and stopped work in January this year to conduct a full-scale investigation of the problem.

The company subsequently concluded that it was caused by the settlement of the foundation which resulted from soft soil layer, he added.

He said following this, reinforced concrete piles were installed and driven deeper into the hard layer to support the houses.

"This had cost an extra RM100,000 on average for each affected unit's production cost," said Yong.

Independent geo-technical consultant Dr Gue See Sew, hired by Hicom Gamuda to assess the soil structure and recommend remedial measures after the cracks were detected, said the measures taken were "tested and proven" to be efficient in dealing with soft soil layer problems.

Human error

However, he conceded that there was likely to be a "human error" in the soil assessment conducted prior to the construction where the random sampling did not indicate the particular affected spot thus allowing the soft soil layer to be overlooked.

Meanwhile, spokesperson for the nine disgruntled home buyers, George said he was disappointed by Hicom Gamuda's accusation that they were only interested in the 35 percent discount.

"It was misleading and nothing but a blatant lie. The developer made a mistake and now they are diverting the blame to us," he said.

George said the nine purchasers are willing to do away with the demand for a discount if the company is willing to give a written life-long guarantee on the houses' safety instead of the proposed six months extension of defects liability period.

He said his group was not confident in the remedial measures taken by the developer and therefore they will hire private consultants to do their own assessment on the soil.

"Only when we are satisfied with the soil structure and safety of the houses, will we not pursue the matter any further," he said.